Naruto: The Middle Ages!
by winxgirl21
Summary: While cleaning out her attic, Sakura finds a beautifully encrusted bracelet. It has the Konoha symbol designed with emeralds, and it has an inscription on it: To my beautiful Cherry Blossom, with love your Onyx Knight. Who could this bracelet have belonge
1. Chapter 1

Naruto, The Middle Ages, chapter 1

Sakura hummed as she opened yet another box, eager to se what she would find inside. She didn't see why people hated cleaning out the attic. It was so much fun, and every box contained something new, something that played a part in someone else's life, something that was history. She looked down into the box, and pulled out an old dress. It was a deep crimson, it was very heavy, and appeared to be made of silk, with pearls sewn into the bodice.

'_This thing is ancient!'_ She thought as she held it up. It revealed a full skirt, one that would have been worn with layers of petticoats underneath. _'And look at it; it isn't a dress, but a gown! It has to be from around the middle ages! How would my family have ever gotten something like this?' _ She looked at the box, it was plain, an ordinary cardboard box, one that you would have thought that junk was stored in. _'And why isn't in something more protective? The cloth should have been eaten away by moths years ago. I wonder why it hasn't yet.' _ Sakura looked closely at the gown, and realized that the gown had some sort of jutsu protecting it, an ancient jutsu. _'Why? What kind of person would need a jutsu to protect a gown?' _ Sakura set the gown down next to her, and pulled out a pair of embroidered shoes, she looked at them, but couldn't detect any jutsu being used, or ever being used on them. She then looked down into the box, it appeared to be empty, but just as she was about to put the shoes and gown back into it, something shining caught her eye. She picked it up and found a beautiful gold bracelet. It had the Konoha Village symbol designed on it with emeralds, and it had to have been expensive. Sakura examined it more closely, and found an inscription on it, on the inside of the bracelet. It read: _To my Cherry Blossom, with love, your Onyx Knight. _

'_It's beautiful!' _Sakura thought to herself. _'Whoever it belonged to had to be someone of the higher classes back then, no one else could have afforded it.' _ Sakura carefully put the dress and the shoes back into the box, and set the bracelet nearby as she put things that were staying in the attic back where they belonged. She packed up the things that she had decided to get rid of, and placed them near the stairs so that she could come back up and get them at a better time. _'I can probably convince Naruto and Sasuke to help me with these later. I'll have to give them a call.' _She then turned and picked up the bracelet, and headed downstairs to see what she could find out about it. Just as she was about to pull out a book of her family's history, one that she remembered her mom telling her was there, but had never actually had the time to pick it up to read, she heard a knock at the door.

'_Who could it be?' _Sakura wondered as she slid the book back into its place, and walked to the door to find out who was bothering her. She opened it to find the rest of her team standing there.

"Sakura, why weren't you at the training grounds? You were supposed to be there half an hour ago, and you're not one to be late." Kakashi said.

"Training grounds?" Sakura said confused, and then it hit her. "Oh! We were supposed to train today! I'm so sorry, Kakashi-sensei! I was cleaning out the attic and I lost track of time, I'll grab my stuff and then be right back!" Sakura ran upstairs, grabbed her training gear, then quickly ran back downstairs to join her team, all the while holding the golden bracelet in her hand.

"Ok, I'm ready!" Sakura said as she joined the rest of her team. She reached to shut the door, and when she did, the sun hit the bracelet in her hand, causing it to glint.

'Sakura, what's that in your hand?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Oh, it's something that I found in my attic." She replied simply, not wanting to bring attention to the age, or possible value, of the piece of jewelry.

"Really?" Kakashi said, as he quickly grabbed it out of her hand to examine it. "it appears to be a very old bracelet, something of possible value."

'_It's like he read my mind!' _Sakura thought while she said, "Oh, yes, I suppose it could be." Kakashi handed the bracelet back to her.

"You'd better take care of it, you wouldn't want anything to happen to it." Kakashi said.

"Don't worry, I will." Sakura said.

"Good." Kakashi said. "Now, let's go."

She looked down at it and then thought, _'What could it hurt to wear it to training?' _ She undid the clasp and placed the golden ring on her arm, fastening it quickly. Once she had done so, she was greeted by a big flash. All she could see was her team around her, and they looked just as bewildered as she did as a huge breeze started to pick up, swirling around them, almost as if to whisk them off somewhere…

A/N: ok, well, I got this idea, and I had to type it up. I'm just trying to get an idea if people like it or not, and if I get some reviews saying that I should continue with it, I might try to keep up with two stories at once, depending on what people think of this one. This will be a fanfiction based on the Middle Ages, and right now just about anything could happen with it.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

All she could see was her team around her, and they looked just as bewildered as she did as a huge breeze started to pick up, swirling around them, almost as if to whisk them off somewhere…

The next thing Sakura knew, she was standing in a garden. She looked down at herself, finding a flowing crimson skirt. It was the same dress she had found in her attic. Her eyes went wide. She had left that dress upstairs, in her attic. She looked down at her wrist. The bracelet was still there. _'This is what caused all of this! But more importantly right now, where am I? How did I get here? Why am I wearing this dress? And where on earth are Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei?'_ Sakura thought as she looked wildly around for her teammates. _'They're no where to be seen!' _ Just then, she heard a voice coming from the other side of the rose bush she was next to.

"Princess? Princess, where did you go? It's time for your lessons!" That person rounded the bush and almost collided with Sakura. "Princess! You startled me!" Sakura looked more closely at the girl, and saw that she looked scary like TenTen.

"Princess?" Sakura said skeptically. _'Why does TenTen think that I'm a Princess?' _she thought while she said, "TenTen, where are we?"

"Why, Sakura! We're in your fathers rose garden, at his castle, which is the center of the Kingdom of Konoha." The girl, whose name was obviously TenTen replied, looking shocked that Sakura had forgotten this. "You do remember that your father is the king, don't you?"

"O-of course I do!" Sakura said. _'If TenTen thinks I'm a princess, I might as well play along, since I have no clue where the hell I am!' _

"Well, then, hurry, your highness, or you'll be late with your lessons with master Kakashi!" TenTen said as she hurried Sakura along, guiding her into the castle.

'_Well, at least I know where Kakashi-sensei is.' _Sakura thought as she went where TenTen directed. She approached a large wooden door, and opened it, finding it a little room with another door leading to another room. As she looked around, she spotted Kakashi leaning on a wall, waiting for her. She turned around to see TenTen waiting there. _'What does she want? Ok, think, you're obviously in charge of this girl, so let's try dismissing her.' _

"Thank you, TenTen, you may leave now." Sakura said. TenTen curtsied and exited the room.

"Sakura, you look lovely in that dress." Kakashi said.

"Kakashi-sensei! I'm so glad to see you!" Sakura exclaimed. "Do you have any clue where we are?"

"Well, from the looks of it, we're in your chambers, and by the way you just dismissed Ms. TenTen, I'd say you're in charge in this part of the castle."

"Well, TenTen was calling me Princess. She said that my father is the king. I'm so confused, how did we get here?" Sakura asked her teacher.

"Well, as soon as you put that bracelet on, this is where we ended up. Now, have you seen Sasuke or Naruto? We need to try and get out of here as son as possible." Kakashi said.

"And how do you expect us to do that? Hop in a time machine and go home?" Sakura asked sarcastically.

"Actually, I was thinking we could try having you remove that bracelet." Kakashi said. "But I don't want to try anything without Naruto and Sasuke being here. For all we know, they might end up being left here if we try to use it without them here."

"Well, right now, all I know is that you're my teacher, and I'm the Princess. So let's have a lesson on how the castle is run." Sakura said.

"Ok, then, let's go. With any luck, we'll find Sasuke and Naruto somewhere." Kakashi said. He stepped forward and opened the door for Sakura, letting her leave the room first. "Now, if I'm a teacher, and you're a princess, what would Sasuke and Naruto be?"

"Stable boys?" Sakura suggested.

"Right, then, you're the princess, so we'll do what you think." Kakashi said.

"This is weird, being in charge and everything." Sakura said.

"Remember, you're not totally in charge, just in charge of your servants and such. Your parents will be in charge of a lot more than you." Kakashi said. "I was reading a book that I found in your room, and it appears to be a diary, your diary, as it would turn out."

"My diary? That's impossible! That's back home, safe in its hiding place." Sakura objected.

"Well, technically, this diary belongs to the Princess Sakura, so maybe if we read it, we'll figure something out." Kakashi said.

"Ok, well, since it's my diary, I get to read it." Sakura said as she snatched the diary out of Kakashi's hands. She opened it up to the first day, and noticed the date. "Sensei, the date says that we're back in the Middle Ages. So that means, that we've been transported into the height of Konoha society back then, or rather, now. So does this mean that my ancestors were the rulers of Konoha?"

"They very possibly were." Kakashi said. "Little is known about this age because so many documents were lost when the war with Suna broke out. I guess history does repeat itself." Kakashi said, referring to the recent war against Suna. "I'm guessing that you're family was in charge, but how they escaped is beyond my means of knowing. One of the few things that we do know is that the entire royal family was wiped out. But you prove this wrong."

"Well, I have no clue why my mother didn't tell me! She obviously knew, I mean, I had this dress, and the shoes and the bracelet all in my-"Sakura suddenly stopped, realizing something. "The princess must have been the one to escape. I have all of her clothes that I'm wearing right now, which must have been what she wore the day she escaped from the palace, avoiding death by doing so." They were exiting the castle now, and Sakura had spotted the stables. 'Look, sensei, there's the stables! We have to see if they're there!"

A/N: ok, same with as Konoha High, sorry if this chapter is weird. My cat is extremely sick, and one of her lungs has collapsed. They're supposed to do an ultrasound and call my family with news about her, but they've yet to do so. So right now, I'm pretty much just typing to keep myself sane as I wait. Reviews would be very appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Ok, this chapter is dedicated to everyone who's reviewed either of my stories in the past few days. Your comments have made me feel great. If it wasn't for my stories and my reviewers, I don't think I'd have even bothered doing anything but mope around since Monday. Thanks a lot to all of you. -

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

They were exiting the castle now, and Sakura had spotted the stables. "Look, sensei, there's the stables! We have to see if they're there!" Sakura started to run, but Kakashi grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Remember, these people think that you're their princess. That means that you have to act like one." He said, reminding Sakura of who she was to these people.

"Fine," Sakura said as she started walking quickly towards the stable. As soon as she was close to the stable she heard someone speak to her.

"Princess? What brings you down to the stables? Would you like to take your horse for a ride?" Sakura turned around and found someone who looked exactly like Iruka-sensei looking at her.

"No, actually, we've come so that I can look at the horses." Sakura said. "We'll just be inside; I'll call for you if I need you."

"Yes, your highness." Iruka said as he bowed, backing out of the stables to let them look at the horses.

"Sakura? Is that you? Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura heard a familiar voice, but couldn't find where it was coming from. "I'm up here!" Sakura looked up to find the grinning face of Naruto looking down at her.

"Naruto? Is that really you? Oh, I'm so glad we found you!" Sakura exclaimed at finding her friend in this world. "Where's Sasuke?"

"I don't know, I thought teme'd be with you." Naruto said.

"Oh," Sakura said sounding a bit disappointed.

'Well, can you tell me where we are?" Naruto asked. "They've been telling me I have to muck out the horse stalls! Can you believe that? Who do they think I am?"

"Well, Naruto, they think that you're a stable hand. A stable hand that works in the stables at the castle in Konoha. Naruto, we're back in the Middle Ages." Sakura explained.

"Well, if I'm a stable hand, what're you guys?" Naruto asked, sounding annoyed.

"Well, Naruto, I'm the tutor for the princess." Kakashi said.

"And just who's this princess?" Naruto asked him.

"I am, Naruto." Sakura said. "Apparently, my ancestors ruled the kingdom of Konoha. And this bracelet came from this time period. When I put it on, we were transported here."

"What? You're a princess?" Naruto said in disbelief. "Then what's teme, a knight?"

"Naruto! That's brilliant! That's the next place we'll look for him!" Sakura exclaimed.

"You'd better come with us." Kakashi said. "We're trying to find Sasuke so we can get home, as in back to our time period."

"Ok, it sure beats having them tell me to muck out the stalls." Naruto said as he followed Kakashi and Sakura out of the stables.

"Naruto! Where do you think you're going? Get back in there and finish mucking out the stalls!" Iruka yelled.

"I'm sorry, sir, but Naruto will be joining us. If you have any complaints, I'm sure we could take them up with my father?' Sakura said.

"Oh, of course not, your highness. If you want to take Naruto with you, please do so." Iruka said as he bowed to Sakura, again.

"Now, kind sir, could you please point me to where the knights would be found on this beautiful day?" Sakura asked.

"Over, there, Princess." Iruka said as he pointed to a field where some people could be spotted.

"Thank you." Sakura said as she walked towards the field, Kakashi and Naruto in tow.

"Wow, Sakura, Iruka-sensei just did what you said!" Naruto exclaimed.

"No, Naruto, that's not Iruka sensei, it's one of his ancestors. There are a lot of people here that are the ancestors of the people that we know today." Kakashi explained.

"So you're telling me that my ancestor was a stable boy?" Naruto said unhappily.

"Precisely." Kakashi said.

"Oh, look!" Sakura exclaimed. 'There's Sasuke! He's over there by that tree!" Kakashi and Naruto looked over at the tree, and sure enough, Sasuke was leaning against it. Sasuke looked up at Sakura's screaming, and began to walk over to them.

"So, anybody wanna tell me why I'm now a knight?" Sasuke asked as he approached them.

"Um, well, you see, when I put my bracelet on, we were transported back in time to the Middle Ages. I'm a princess, Kakashi-sensei is my teacher, Naruto is a stable hand, and well, you're a knight. Now, come on, we should go back to my chambers to try and transport back. We shouldn't try to do that in front of all these people." Sakura said as she motioned towards the knights that were watching them.

"I agree. Now, Sasuke, you have to ct like Sakura's a princess. Otherwise, they might think something's up." Kakashi instructed. Sasuke nodded as he bowed to Sakura, and then followed them into the castle.

As Sakura shut the door, she turned around. "Are you guys ready to see if this will work?"

"Now's as good as ever." Naruto said, while Kakashi nodded.

"Hn." was Sasuke's reply.

"Ok, then." Sakura said as she reached down and undid the clasp. They all waited, but nothing happened. "So much for that idea." Sakura sighed. "So what are we going to do from here?"

"Well, we'll just have to stay here until we figure out a way to get back home." Kakashi said. "Naruto, Sasuke, whatever is expected of you, please do it. We don't need something happening that alters the course of history."

"Sensei, why are you only looking at me when you say that?" Naruto complained.

"Because, Naruto, you're the one most likely to screw something up." Kakashi said.

"Um, e-excuse, m-me, Princess Sakura? " A small voice said from behind them. Sakura turned around to find a Hinata look alike. "The Prince of Suna is here to see you." Sakura noticed that Hinata was looking at Naruto as she said this, a slight blush on her cheeks. _'So, I guess their ancestors were the same as they are in modern times.' _

"Ok, lady Hinata, please, show him in." Sakura said, as if she'd been doing this kind of stuff all of her life.

A/N: ok, so any guesses on who the Prince is? It should be pretty obvious. Well, as you could probably tell from the top, reviews are much appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Ok, lady Hinata, please, show him in." Sakura said, as if she'd been doing this kind of stuff all of her life.

"Yes, your highness." Hinata said as she curtsied, exited the room, and came back with a redhead, who looked extremely like Gaara.

Sakura stood up and curtsied, "Your Highness."

Gaara bowed, "Princess."

"So, what brings you here today?" Sakura asked.

"Your father asked me to come visit with you while my father has a meeting with him." Gaara replied.

"Oh, that would explain it." Sakura said. She noticed Gaara looking behind her, and turned around, realizing that her teammates were still there. "Gaara, I'd like for you to meet Sasuke, Naruto and master Kakashi." They all bowed to Gaara mumbling the proper respects.

"Nice to meet you." Gaara said rather coldly. Sakura assumed he had thought it would just be the two of them today.

"Shall we go out to the gardens?" Sakura suggested.

"That would be a grand idea." Gaara replied. They exited the room, and as Sakura left, she signaled for her teammates to stay.

"Ok, so this is weird. Gaara's a prince." Naruto said.

"Maybe this will help us a little bit." Kakashi said as he held up the diary of princess Sakura. He opened it up to a random page and started reading. "mmhmm…yes…"

"What is it sensei? Tell me! Tell me!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Well, Naruto, it appears that Gaara isn't just here for a visit as he says, he means to court the Princess." Kakashi replied simply.

"What does court mean?" Naruto asked, confused.

"It means to date, dobe." Sasuke answered his question, sounding a bit angry.

"Pretty, much, yes, Sasuke's right." Kakashi said. He then went back to reading the diary.

"So you're saying Gaara wants to date Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"No, dobe. Remember, Sakura's a Princess here, and Gaara's a Prince. Back in the Middle Ages, royalty didn't have a lot of say in who they married. That meeting that Sakura's father is in right now is probably about an engagement." Sasuke said in a chilling voice.

"Are you jealous, teme?" Naruto asked.

"Why would I be jealous?" Sasuke asked back.

"Because Gaara gets to date Sakura-chan." Naruto replied.

"Hn." was Sasuke's reply to that.

"Well, Sasuke, you'll be pleased to here this little quote." Kakashi said as he pointed to a line in the book before he read it to them. " _'Sasuke is one of the bravest knights in the kingdom, so I wonder, why won't father allow him to court me? I know how badly he wants the alliance with Suna, but shouldn't love come first?'_ It appears that your ancestor tried courting our young Sakura, but things didn't work out quite so well."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, the king, Sakura's father, wouldn't permit it. He wants an alliance with Suna, and that alliance comes through his daughter. If Sakura marries Gaara, then the alliance will be made. If he allowed Sakura to marry your ancestor, however, there would be no alliance and possibly a war on hand for the king." Kakashi explained.

"Hn." Sasuke replied as he thought things over.

"So teme's ancestor liked Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, Naruto, from what is written in the Princess' diary, he does." Kakashi replied.

"So does that mean teme actually likes Sakura?" Naruto asked, turning to look at Sasuke.

"No, Naruto, it only means that his ancestor did. We for some strange reason have the same names and behavior as our ancestors, but not necessarily the same feelings. At least from what I've seen so far, anyways." Kakashi said in reply to his student's question.

"Oh." Naruto said. Just then they heard a voice from behind them.

"Um, e-excuse me, I'm sorry to i-interrupt, but I was looking for the Prince and Princess?" Hinata said, as she yet again looked at Naruto while she spoke.

"Oh, they went down to the gardens. They should be back shortly." Kakashi said.

"Th-thank you. When they return, could you please send the Prince to the main hall? His father is preparing to leave." Hinata asked. Kakashi nodded and Hinata quickly exited the room.

"You know, she does act a lot like the Hinata back home, I mean, what's with all the stuttering and blushing?" Naruto asked.

"Dobe, she likes you." Sasuke said as if it were plain as day. To Naruto, though, it was dark as night.

"Hinata-chan likes me?" He asked.

"You mean you haven't noticed? Man, dobe, you're stupider than I thought," Sasuke said.

"Hm, and it appears from this diary that Hinata is Sakura's main lady in waiting. Which means that she also would have been forbidden to be seen with your ancestor, Naruto, a mere stable hand." Kakashi said. "Actually, the only one who's love would be approved, according to the princess' diary here, would be that of TenTen and Neji. TenTen is the lady in waiting under Hinata's rank, and Neji is one of the best knights, in the princess' opinion, second only to Sasuke."

"Hn." was all Sasuke had to say on the matter.

"That's unfair." Naruto said.

"Life was unfair back then, Naruto." Kakashi said.

'We're back, Master Kakashi." Sakura said as they entered her chambers.

"Ah, good. Prince Gaara, according to Lady Hinata, your father is waiting for you in the main hall." Kakashi said.

"Thank you, sir." Gaara said. "Princess, I will see you again shortly." Sakura curtsied and Gaara bowed, then Gaara exited the room.

As soon as the door was shut, Kakashi turned to Sakura. "We read the diary while you were gone, and it had some information in it."

"Like what? How to get us out of here?" Sakura asked.

"No, like what Gaara was doing here." Kakashi said.

"As if I hadn't figured that out, sensei. He was here to court me." Sakura said.

"Ok, well then maybe you'll be interested in why he wasn't so friendly to us." Kakashi said.

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Because, Sasuke here, or at least his ancestor, attempted to court you. Your father, the king, disapproved highly of it because he wishes an alliance with Suna. It appears that this alliance would have come through the princess, or his daughter." Kakashi said.

"Oh." Sakura said as she sat down in a chair that was near by.

A/N: Ok, so, those of you who guessed that the prince was Gaara and I told you to wait and see, you were right. I don't really have a lot to say about this chapter. Reviews are much appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Oh." Sakura said as she sat down in a chair that was near by. "So I have to put up with this for as long as we're here?"

"Put up with what?" Naruto asked.

"Being used as a pawn in my father's plan to create an alliance. I'm nothing more than that to him, a mere pawn in his plan for power." Sakura spat.

"Well, I wouldn't voice that to your father, if I were you, Sakura." Kakashi warned. "You might do something that your ancestor wouldn't have done, although by the sound of the diary, she didn't like it much either."

"Well, don't you think she would have voiced her opinion then?" Sakura argued.

"Sakura, what do you know about ladies from the Middle Ages?" Sasuke questioned knowing that Sakura knew enough to know that she shouldn't run about voicing her opinion.

"Enough to know that peasants had it better than royalty, I don't care what they might think, but at least most of them can marry who they choose and aren't pawns in there fathers thirst for power." Sakura said. "I mean, the queen can help make decisions, I know that there were many powerful queens back then, but princesses are so limited on what they can and can't do. We don't even have a say in who we marry!"

"Sakura, calm down. We don't need anyone coming in here to see what has you all worked up, now do we?" Kakashi asked her.

"No, I guess that could get you guys in trouble, too." Sakura said. "Well, I guess I'll just read some more."

"And we should probably get back to what we're supposed to be doing." Sasuke said as he turned to leave.

"But I don't want to shovel horse poop!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Well, get used to it, dobe. We could be here for a while." Sasuke said as he put his hand on the door.

"Guys, as soon as I figure out some stuff from the diary, I'll come and see you guys to tell you, ok?" Sakura said, looking up from the page.

"Actually, Sakura, I don't think you should be seen with them too often. You can summon them here, but I don't think people need to see the princess befriending a stable boy, or talking to the guy who wanted to court her." Kakashi said.

"I guess you're right, sensei. But you'll be able to go see them, won't you? And tell them what we need to let them know? I think that you're right, and the guys should only be called to my chambers for emergencies." Sakura said.

"That's a good decision, Sakura. And boys, you should only come here if you hear wind of anything that might affect any of us majorly, ok?" Kakashi said.

"Hn." Sasuke said as he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

"Ok, sensei." Naruto mumbled as he followed Sasuke out of the room to go back to the stables. Once the door was shut, Kakashi turned towards Sakura.

"Please, Sakura, don't do anything that your ancestor wouldn't have." Kakashi said as he pointed towards the journal.

"Don't worry, sensei. I'll look to the journal before I do anything that could affect the course of history. You know I'm not like Naruto." Sakura said.

"Well, then, I believe it's time for me to make my leave. If you need me just send for me. I'll be around. For now, your servants are here for you." Kakashi said as he exited the room.

Sakura nodded, and stood up to better explore her chambers. She hadn't had a chance to do so yet. She looked around her, her emerald eyes taking in everything. There were two doors leading from the room she was in. It appeared that she and her friends had been in a small receiving room this entire time. She decided to open up the door that was on the left, and when she did, she found her bed chamber. It was a spacious room, with a huge four post bed. The bed had curtains around it that could be drawn together for warmth. At the end of her bed was a large chest. She opened it to find some beautiful dresses. There were maybe five or six in this one chest. She looked around and found a couple other chests pushed against the walls in various parts of her room. She opened each one in turn to find various clothing items. There were more gowns, petticoats, corsets, shoes, and much more. Sakura couldn't believe all the clothes that she had. For back then, her wardrobe wasn't too shabby. Her ancestor really knew how to dress.

Sakura closed the chest that she was peering into. She went back through the door and entered the one on the right. It was a parlor of sorts, with a sofa type seat. There was a table and some nice chairs around it. There was a shelf that was covered in books. The room was perfect for receiving more important guests. It would also be perfect for meeting with her friends about how to get back to the future. No one would over here them, and cause a chance of any trouble.

"Princess?" Sakura heard an inquiring voice from the other room.

"I'm in here." Sakura replied as she sat down on the sofa and pretended to have bee reading a book from the shelf.

"Oh, here you are." Sakura looked up into the face of Ino. Ino was her best friend back home, how close had her ancestor been to Ino's ancestor? "Reading again, I see." She sat down next to the princess. Obviously this girl was close to her. None of the other servants had tried to sit in her presence yet. "I have something that I have to tell you. But you have to promise to not tell anyone." Ino's eye was gleaming.

"What is it?" Sakura inquired, looking up from her book. This girl had to have been close to her ancestor. Maybe she should have tried to read a little bit more of the diary instead of going through her clothes.

"Shikamaru asked me to join him in the library tomorrow! Oh, do you think he finally means to court me?" Ino asked, her eyes looking hopeful.

"I'm not sure. What purpose is your meeting in the library?" Sakura asked. What role did Shikamaru's ancestor play in her court? She had no idea. He had to have some status here if Ino had her sights set on him.

"Oh, he's reading me my star chart. And I didn't even ask him to! Can you believe that? The king's astronomer! Volunteering to read my star chart!" Ino exclaimed.

'_It figures,' _Sakura thought with a sweat drop, _'staring at the stars is as close a job as he could get to cloud watching.' _

_A/N: _Ok, so I made Ino and Sakura's ancestors best friends. I hope this chapter seems ok to you guys. I kind of had some trouble writing it. Reviews are much appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

'_It figures,' _Sakura thought with a sweat drop, _'staring at the stars is as close a job as he could get to cloud watching.' _

"That's great, Ino. I'm really happy for you." Sakura said, unsure of how to react.

"Oh, are you still upset about Sasuke?" Ino asked. "You know you two would make a great couple. It's too bad about that treaty, though."

"Yea, I wish my father wouldn't use me as his pawn." Sakura said. "I mean, Gaara's nice and all, I guess, but Sasuke is just…"

"Perfect for you!" Ino exclaimed. "And what do you mean, Gaara's nice? Sakura, he's mean to everyone but you. You know that one of the servants displeased him the other day and no one has heard from them since? Someone who was standing in the hall heard a bloodcurdling scream, then saw Gaara exit the room. He is one messed up prince."

"Oh, what am I going to do?" Sakura moaned as she leaned her head against the back of the sofa. "I don't want to marry a crazy man!"

"You don't have any choice, though." Ino said, and then her face brightened up, "Unless we can get you out of here before the wedding!"

Sakura looked at Ino. What would her ancestor have said to this idea? She had no clue, but she thought Ino's ancestor was brilliant. Should she agree to the plan? It couldn't hurt to think about it. "Hmm…I'll think about it. I mean, what if I'm the cause of some trouble or something?" Sakura said. As she thought on what she had just spoken, she then added, "Like the start of a war!"

Ino looked at Sakura like she was crazy, and the stood up. "Well, I must go. I'll be back later. Tell me what you think of my plan, then, ok?"

Sakura nodded meekly, the realization finally sinking in. _'My ancestor was the cause of the war. Princess Sakura caused the war. She didn't want to marry the Prince, so she ran away, or refused, and that sparked the war. I have to speak with Kakashi-sensei, now!' _

Sakura got up off the sofa, and walked out into the entrance room. Just as she did so, Hinata entered the room. "Hinata, could you do me a favor?"

"Yes, your highness?" Hinata asked.

"I need you to run and get Master Kakashi for me." Sakura said.

"Right away, Princess." Hinata said as she curtsied and hurriedly exited the room. Sakura sat down in one of the chairs to wait.

Sakura looked up at the sound of the door creaking open. Hinata walked in, followed by Kakashi. "Thank you, Hinata, you're dismissed." Sakura said.

Hinata exited the room, as Kakashi asked, "Sakura, what's so important that you had to send for me?"

"This way, Kakashi-sensei, we can go into my parlor to discuss it." Sakura said as she opened the door to the parlor. She sat down on the sofa, and Kakashi followed suit.

"Ok, Sakura, so what is it?" He asked her.

"Sensei, what if the Princess was the cause of the war? The one between Konoha and Suna?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi thought on this and then asked, "Why would you think that, Sakura?"

"Because, Ino just came in and we were talking about how Shikamaru asked her to join her in the library tomorrow for a reading of her star chart, and the we started talking about me, and Sasuke and Gaara and well…" Sakura stopped at a loss for the right words, unsure of what her sensei would think.

"And?" Kakashi pressed.

"Ino said that Gaara's a monster, so I said I didn't want to marry a monster. She came up with the idea of me running away, and then I said I'd think about it. But the more I thought about it, the more running away seemed to lead to something awful, like war happening. Even the refusal of the proposal by the Princess could result in war." Sakura explained.

"Hmm. That's very possible, Sakura." Kakashi said as he thought on this possibility some more. "That could be the cause of the war between the two kingdoms. If the prince was serious about her, and the princess refused, anything could be possible."

"Oh, God, what am I going to do." Sakura groaned. "I'm going to cause a war!"

"Sakura, have you read the diary all the way through yet?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, not yet." Sakura said, not understanding where this was going.

"Then your theory that the princess was the cause of the war has no proof. Read the diary all the way through and find out what your ancestor thought about Prince Gaara. Once you do, send for me again. Can you do that?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, sensei, I can do that." Sakura replied, reaching for the diary.

"And Sakura?" Kakashi added, and Sakura looked up at him, "Don't say anything too much to Ino. Remember, this Ino might not exactly understand your predicament."

"What's my predicament?" Sakura asked.

"That you're the ancestor of the Princess, who traveled back through time, and now has no clue if she is supposed to want to marry the Prince, whom the two of you have deemed crazy, or if she's supposed to refuse to marry him." Kakashi said simply.

"Um, ok, I won't." Sakura said as she tried to understand this information.

"Good." Kakashi said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'_And he's telling us to keep it low profile.'_ Sakura thought with a sweat drop. _'I'm pretty sure these people didn't know a whole lot about jutsu.' _She sighed and opened up the diary to where she had left off. She might as well get started if she wanted to know what to do with her predicament. The last thing she read before she drifted off into the sweet unconsciousness of sleep was, _'I fear that the Prince is just feigning being nice in order to win my heart, and then once father agrees to the marriage proposal he will be like the servants claim he is. I trust Ino with my life, and know that she would never lie to me.' _ The date on the entry was the days date.

A/N: Ok, so I tried to make this chapter somewhat interesting. I also tried to put the conflict into the story, and give a little bit more information on where it's going. Well, reviews are much appreciated! -


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

The last thing she read before she drifted off into the sweet unconsciousness of sleep was, _'I fear that the Prince is just feigning being nice in order to win my heart, and then once father agrees to the marriage proposal he will be like the servants claim he is. I trust Ino with my life, and know that she would never lie to me.' _ The date on the entry was the days date.

Sakura awoke the next morning to someone straightening up the room she was in. She opened her eyes up to find TenTen busying herself around the room. She looked down at the diary in her lap, and turned the page. She let out a surprised gasp as she looked down and saw another entry, one that hadn't been there the night before.

"Is something wrong, Princess?" TenTen inquired, looking oddly at Sakura.

"Um, no, not at all, I was just surprised to find you already in my chambers so early in the morning." Sakura made up an excuse quickly.

TenTen giggles. "But Princess, it's almost noon. You've been sleep for hours."

Sakura blushed at having slept so late. "I'm sorry. TenTen, has Master Kakashi come yet?"

"Yes, your highness, he's waiting in the receiving room."

"Oh, please send him in, then. You are dismissed." Sakura said with a wave of her hand.

A few minutes later, Kakashi entered the room. "Finally awake, I see." He said.

"Yea, I am." Sakura said.

"So have you read the diary yet?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, sensei, but there's something weird about it." Sakura said, glancing down at the diary that was in her lap.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Kakashi asked his student.

"Well, I read to the end of the diary last night, and now there's a new entry. And it has today's date on it." Sakura said.

"Hm." Kakashi said. "That's interesting."

"What do think is going on with it, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Well, maybe the entry that the Princess would have added to the diary today automatically appeared, since the Princess isn't here to write it." Kakashi said. "Maybe it's what the Princess wrote on that particular day, and it will automatically appear. This could be a good guide for you. Just read the entry every morning, and it should tell you what happened, and what your ancestor did during the day. It will also help you make certain decisions."

"You're right, sensei." Sakura said. "Oh, I want to tell you what yesterdays entry said. It said that the Princess didn't want to marry the Prince, and that she trusted Ino with her life. Maybe she did try to escape the marriage in some way?"

It's possible that she did try to escape the marriage." Kakashi said. "But I wouldn't object to the marriage outright until the Princess writes what she is going to do. She most likely knows that this marriage is very important for her kingdom."

"Just as I know it." Sakura said with a sigh. "Sensei, I'm so confused, and I have no clue what to do anymore."

"Well, for starters, you might want to change your dress. You can't wear the same one forever." Kakashi pointed out.

"Ok, I'll be right back." Sakura said as she exited the room and headed towards her bedroom chamber. When she came back she found Kakashi reading one of the books from the shelf. She had slipped on a deep blue bodice with an ice blue skirt. The sleeves on the dress switched to ice blue lace when they hit quarter length. "I'm back." She said and Kakashi looked up at her.

"Good, now, what should your lesson be about today?" Kakashi asked her.

"Why are you asking me? You're the teacher." Sakura said.

"But you're the Princess." Kakashi said.

"Well, I really wish I could do some training. I really don't want to get any farther behind than I already am." Sakura said.

"I don't know. We really shouldn't leave your chambers today. And training you would be a bit obvious. I doubt the Princess ever did anything like that." Kakashi said, making a point.

"True." Sakura said with a sigh. "Maybe we should just stick to discussing mission tactics, then? If I know them ahead of time, I could probably know them better."

"Ok, then. We'll do that. Now first, w had a mission that was coming up…" Kakashi said as they went on to discuss the mission and the plans for it.

"Princess?" Sakura looked up from the discussion to see Hinata peeking around the doorway.

"Yes, Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"There's someone here to see you." Hinata said as she stepped aside, allowing the person to enter the doorway. Sakura looked up at the doorway, surprised to find Temari standing there.

"Hello, Sakura. I'm sorry to interrupt your lesson, but I just had to stop by." Temari said, shooting a look at Kakashi that told him he was dismissed. He just looked blankly back at her.

"Master Kakashi, I guess the time for our lessons will end early to day. Thank you for coming." Sakura said, letting her sensei know that he needed to leave. If Gaara was a prince, that made Temari a Princess. Kakashi didn't need to displease her and get himself fired.

"Ok, Princess. I'll be back tomorrow." Kakashi said, as he exited the room, using the door this time.

"Please, have a seat, Temari." Sakura said.

"Thank you." Temari said as she sat down.

"So, what purpose has this visit? I thought your family had left yesterday?" Sakura questioned the girl.

"Well, my father and brother did, but I stayed behind in the palace." Temari explained. "I wanted to talk to you about Gaara."

"The Prince? But why?" Sakura asked. She had a bad feeling about this.

"Well, since he's soon to propose-" Temari said but she was cut off by a gasp from Sakura. "Oh, don't tell me that you didn't know. It's so obvious! I mean, our fathers have been in meetings every day. You have to know that they all aren't about the treaty. Some of them have been about you and my brother."

"I had no idea that some of them were about us. I thought it was just about the treaty." Sakura said looking baffled.

"Well, you guys are the treaty." Temari said with a giggle. "Seriously, though, since Gaara's going to propose soon, you need to know some stuff about him. When things aren't done the way he wants them, he can be a bit…hostile."

"What do you mean by hostile?" Sakura asked.

"Well, he yells and screams a lot, for one thing." Temari said. "So you might want to agree with what he says."

Temari said nothing about refusing the proposal, probably because that wasn't an option. The two kings had already agreed on it, so it was a done deal. "Ok, I think I can do that." Sakura said while meanwhile she thought, _'There's no way I can do this! Marry a crazy guy, and then do whatever he asks me to? No way!'_

"Well, then, I'll just be on my way. I'll see you at dinner tonight?" Temari asked as she stood up from her seat. Sakura nodded absentmindedly. "Ok, then. I'll see you then."

A/N: Ok, so here's the next chapter. I've kind of had the idea about the diary for a while now, so I'm glad to get it down. Reviews are much appreciated -


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Well, then, I'll just be on my way. I'll see you at dinner tonight?" Temari asked as she stood up from her seat. Sakura nodded absentmindedly. "Ok, then. I'll see you then."

Sakura sat staring at the diary in her hands. Sure the entry for today had said visited with Temari, but it hadn't said anything about her advice, or about how the marriage proposal was sooner than she had expected. Her ancestor must have suspected as much, but hadn't written it down for fear of written words making it seem too real. She had no idea what she was going to do. There was no way she was marrying Gaara. Even his ancestor was crazy!

"My life is over." Sakura groaned into her hands, her face buried in them.

"Come on, Sakura, you do have options you know." Sakura looked up to find Ino plopped down on the couch beside her.

"Ino! What am I going to do?" Sakura asked.

"Well, you could always go with my plan and run away." Ino suggested.

"I might just have to." Sakura replied sullenly. "The only thing is, they'll come looking for me."

"True." Ino replied in the same tone that Sakura had. But suddenly her face brightened up. "But what if you ran away after you were engaged. Or rather, disappeared. They don't know anything; you could have been kidnapped for all that they know."

"True." Sakura said, deep in thought. "I don't know. Let's wait until the Prince proposes, ok?"

"Fair enough, but you'd better tell me as soon as he does so we can get your life straightened out." Ino said as she stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I saw a handsome young man waiting at the door to your room when I entered. Allow me to let him in."

Sakura wondered who it was, but nothing could have prepared her for the person that entered her room. Sakura looked up and her emerald eyes met his onyx ones. "Sasuke? Why are you here? Did something happen to Naruto?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"No, Naruto's fine. I came here with some news. Apparently Prince Kankuro is the head of Suna's army." Sasuke said, looking intently at Sakura. She nodded and motioned for him to take a seat next to her.

"Go on." She prompted her friend.

"Well, it looks like Gaara's going to propose either tomorrow, or the day after. He and his father just came back with Kankuro." Sasuke said.

Sakura's eyes widened. "I-I had no idea. I knew it was soon, but not that soon. Temari stopped by earlier. And…And I'll just have to delay it, somehow…I'll…just…" She was growing paler by the second.

Sasuke put his hand over hers. "Sakura, you can't stop him. He'll become suspicious of you. Of us. You aren't supposed to know when it happens, remember?" Sakura just nodded her head yes and started crying silent tears.

"Why is my life falling apart? Why? I wish I'd never found that box in the attic! I wish I'd never found any of this!" Sakura said in a hysterical voice. "What am I going to do? Oh, Sasuke, what am I going to do?" She looked up at him, the tears brimming her eyes.

"Sakura, this is your decision. I can't help you here." Sasuke said. Just then there was a poof of smoke and Kakashi entered the room. Sasuke quickly took his hand off of hers.

"Ah, I see young romance blooming." Kakashi said observantly, obviously noticing Sasuke's hand before he'd had a chance to move it.

Sakura blushed crimson, while Sasuke just glared at his sensei. "Sensei, Sasuke has found out when the prince intends to propose." Sakura said quietly.

"Oh? And when would this be?" Kakashi questioned.

"Within the next two days." Sasuke mumbled.

"Really, then? And Sakura, what do you intend to do?" Kakashi said looking at his student.

Sakura took a deep breath and glanced at Sasuke before looking back at her sensei and giving him her answer. "I'm going to accept." Sasuke looked up at her a little too quickly thank necessary, his anger barely evident in his face, but there.

"Really?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura nodded. "Just until I figure out what to do further. If he thinks I'm accepting the marriage, I'll have more time to think. Even if I refuse the marriage, the king will force me into it."

"I see. And what hair brained scheme has Ino filled your head with this time?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura blushed again, this time more lightly. "She still thinks I should run away from here. The only problem is that they'll look for me. How far could I actually get before someone recognized me, or the guards found me?"

"True. Running away is definitely not the answer. At least not for now. And as for that bracelet on your wrist?" Sakura looked down to see the bracelet still there, having never taken it of.

"Yes, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Give it to Sasuke to hold on to. I know Naruto would loose it, and I can't have women's jewelry in my room. Sasuke is the best option for now." Kakashi said.

Sakura looked down at the bracelet and undid the clasp. She handed it to Sasuke. "Please, Sasuke, don't lose it. It could be part of the way home for us." She said quietly.

"Don't worry, Sakura, I definitely won't." Sasuke said tucking it into a pocket in his pants.

"Good, now Sasuke?" Kakashi said.

"Hn." Sasuke replied, looking at his sensei.

"Don't make a habit of visiting our Princess here too often. Remember, you want to marry her." Kakashi said.

"But sensei, his ancestor wanted to marry my ancestor. It has nothing top do with the two of us right now." Sakura pointed out. _**'Sadly.' **_Inner-Sakura added to her point.

"Says you, Sakura." Kakashi said. Sakura just knew he was smirking behind that mask. She blushed at her sensei's remark, and Sasuke just glared another hole through his teacher's head.

"Well, Sasuke, we best be leaving." Kakashi said as he disappeared in another puff of smoke.

"Well, see you around, Sasuke." Sakura said to her teammate, her face still holding a faint blush.

"Hn." Sasuke said as he stuck his hands into his pockets and stormed off.

'_Was it something I said?' _Sakura thought, _'Or was it what Kakashi-sensei said?' _

A/N: ok, so I've been asked to put some SasukeSakura in here, and I tried this chapter. It's a little bit harder than I thought it would be. I hope Sasuke doesn't seem too OOC! Reviews are much appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

'_Was it something I said?' _Sakura thought, _'Or was it what Kakashi-sensei said?' _

Sakura quickly forgot about her thoughts, though, for soon Ino came back in.

"Princess?" Ino said.

'_Why is Ino being so…formal? Is something wrong?' _Sakura wondered

"Are you ready for dinner?" Ino asked as she entered the room and bowed to Sakura. Something none of the maids did, her ancestor had really hated formalities.

"Yes, Ino, I am." Sakura said. Her eyes sent a questioning look in Ino's direction. Ino just looked behind her through the doors. There was obviously someone there that Sakura couldn't see.

"There's someone here who wishes to escort you to the dining hall." Ino said as she stepped aside to allow Sakura to pass.

"Thank you, Ino." Sakura said as her friend mouthed the word Gaara. Sakura paled at the thought of him proposing to her tonight. She walked through the door and saw Gaara. She curtsied to him while she addressed him. "Prince Gaara."

He bowed to Sakura as he took her hand and kissed it lightly. "You look lovely tonight."

"Thank you." Sakura said.

"May I escort you to dinner?" Gaara asked.

"Yes, of course." Sakura replied. If she had any doubts at all, she certainly didn't show them. And doubts were definitely flying through her head. _'I just have to keep conversation away from weddings and such. How hard can that be? The dining hall can't be that far from here.' _But it proved to be very hard, indeed.

"So, what have you thought about the weather lately?" Sakura asked.

"It's been nice, I guess." Gaara replied. "Perfect for hunting."

"Yea, it has been." Sakura said. "Kiba's been kept really busy with the dogs lately."

"Is Kiba your dog handler?" Gaara inquired.

"Yea, he is. The best in all of Konoha." Sakura said. She hadn't actually met the guy yet, but that's what she had heard from her maids.

"Oh, really? I would like to see his dogs then." Gaara said.

"You should go see them while you're here." Sakura replied.

"Maybe you'd like to come with me tomorrow?" Gaara asked her.

"Well, I'm not sure. It's all the way across the grounds; you can't even see the castle from there." Sakura said. She so did not want to go there with him, what if he proposed?

"Maybe you could bring a body guard." Gaara suggested.

"Yes, Sasuke would be perfect for the job. I suppose we can. I'll send him a note when we return." Sakura said, knowing that choosing Sasuke wasn't the smartest thing, especially by the way Gaara's face darkened when she mentioned his name.

"Yes, I'm sure he would be happy to assist you." Gaara said, the displeasure apparent in his voice. "So, Sakura, what do you think of Suna? From what you've heard?" Gaara asked, switching the subject.

"Well, it's definitely not as vegetated as Konoha." Sakura commented. _'Oh, no! He's_ _switching the subject!_ _To what I think about his village of all things! I have to change the topic!' _

"Hm, yes, but we have a lovely palace garden." Gaara commented. "Almost as lovely as yours."

Sakura laughed nervously. "Really? Well, I can't imagine anything lovelier than my gardens. You know our gardeners are selected from only the finest in the land. Our head gardener Shino can make the most amazing plants bloom!"

"Really?" Gaara said, clearly uninterested. Sakura nodded her head, and then started rambling on about the gardens, not giving Gaara a chance to speak until they arrived at the Dining Hall.

"Thank you for escorting me to dinner, Prince Gaara." Sakura said.

"It was my pleasure." Gaara replied, bowing to kiss Sakura's hand again. They entered the dining hall, and Sakura noticed Sasuke sitting at one of the long tables, obviously away from the direction Gaara was taking her in. He saw her and lifted his chin in acknowledgement. Sakura looked around and then found Naruto sitting next to Iruka, an obvious pout on his face. She made a mental note to visit the stables soon, maybe after dinner. She looked to the table that she was expected to sit at, and saw Kakashi at the end. Unfortunately, it was the opposite end of where she was supposed to sit. Sakura then saw her empty seat, right next to her father, with Gaara across from her. Sakura sighed mentally, _'This is going to be a long night.' _

Once Sakura had finished her meal, and people were starting to leave, she stood up, said goodnight top her father, and caught up with Sasuke on his way out.

"Sasuke, will you please accompany me to the stables? I have a request that I would like to ask of you." Sakura said, not wanting to reveal his job around all of these people. She knew she was breaking Kakashi's rule, but she had to talk to Sasuke, so why not visit the stables as well?

"Hn." Sasuke replied as he walked next to Sakura as she led the way to the stables.

When they were inside Sakura greeted Iruka. "Hello, Iruka. I've come to visit with my horses, would you please give us some time to ourselves?"

"Of course, Your Highness." Iruka said as he made a motion to go and grab Naruto, but Sakura shook her head no. Iruka bowed to her and exited the stable, closing the doors behind him.

"So, Sakura, what was it you wanted to ask me?" Sasuke asked his friend.

"Well, you see, Gaara wants me to go to the dog pound with him tomorrow. Since it's all the way on the other side of the castle grounds, I told him that I feel uncomfortable going all the way there since we can't see the castle. He suggested I bring a body guard, and I chose you to come." Sakura said.

"Sakura, you know that you shouldn't have done that, but I guess I have no choice. I can't defy the Princes. That could cause trouble." Sasuke said as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Thank you , Sasuke!" Sakura said as she threw her arms around his neck. Sasuke didn't object until Naruto looked wide-eyed at him. Sasuke never let Sakura hug him. Once Sakura had let go of him she said, "I really just don't want to be alone with him. He won't bring up the subject of marriage if there's someone else with us."

"Hn." Sasuke said.

"Naruto, I saw how you looked unhappy at dinner, what's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"It's no fun." Naruto said. "All I do is work, and then I see teme out on that field with the other knights, and he gets to fight, and then you and Kakashi-sensei get to sit in your castle all day and you get to do whatever you want."

"Naruto, you wanna know something?" Sakura asked her friend.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"If I had a choice, I'd switch places with you. I mean, I'm about to be proposed to by a physco. Do you really think that all we do is sit in the castle and do whatever I want? What we do is think of ways to get out of here, what I'm going to do when he proposes, and a whole bunch of stuff that I wish wasn't happening to me."

Naruto just looked at her while Sasuke said, "Sakura, calm down. Naruto, can you lay of, Sakura's really stressed right now."

"When did you start siding with Sakura?" Naruto asked Sasuke. Something was up with him.

"Since I thought she was right, dobe." Sasuke replied. Naruto thought about this and then decided that Sasuke's reasoning was good enough for him.

"You know what really sucks?" Naruto asked his friends. They shook there heads no. "This place has no ramen! I mean, how can they not have ramen!"

"It wasn't invented yet, Naruto. It probably won't be invented for a couple hundred of years at the least." Sakura said.

"But I miss eating ramen." Naruto said.

"Well, as soon as we can figure out how to get home, you can get some, Naruto." Sakura said, her mind was now elsewhere. Naruto went on babbling about how he missed ramen as Sasuke sat there looking bored. _'I've really missed their company, and what, it's been two days? What am I going to do if we can't figure out how to get home? There has to be some way, I'm just not sure how.' _ Sakura went on to think of some possible way that they could get themselves home.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Naruto waving a hand in front of her face and Sasuke looking at with a concerned look on his face. "Sakura? Heellooo? Are you there?"

"Sorry, what did you say?" Sakura asked looking at her blonde friend.

"I asked you what you're going to do tomorrow. You know, with the prince and all." Naruto said.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Sasuke asked her.

"Yea, I'm fine. I'm just worried." Sakura said.

"What are you worried about?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Well, about you guys. And me. What are we going to do? It's already been two days, and we're not any closer to getting home than when we first tried." Sakura said, looking perplexed and upset at the same time.

Suddenly she felt arms wrap around her and she looked up to find both of her friends hugging her. "Don't worry, Sakura, we're going to get through all of this together." Naruto said.

"He's right." Sasuke said. "Even if you have to marry that guy, you're allowed to take a small group of choice people with you. I remember learning that somewhere, we won't let anything happen to you."

Sakura's eyes started watering as hugged her friends back. "I don't know what I would do without you guys." Naruto released Sakura from his grip, but looked over at Sasuke and saw that he and Sakura were still holding on to each other. They didn't even seem to realize that Naruto had let go.

"Are you two not telling me something?" Naruto asked his friends.

"Wha-what?" Sakura asked as she and Sasuke immediately let go of each other. "No, we're all just friends. And I'm glad that I have friends like you guys." Sakura looked over at Sasuke. He had just been trying to comfort her, right? That was all it was. But then, why hadn't he let go at the same time as Naruto?

A/N: Ok, so this is my longest chapter yet. Almost 5 pages on Microsoft Word! And yea, I know that Sasuke's a little OOC in the stable, but it's kind of hard with him. Also, it's obvious why Kiba's the dog handler, but Shino's the gardener because when I think of planting things, I immediately think of bugs. shudders Well, reviews are much appreciated!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Sakura looked over at Sasuke. He had just been trying to comfort her, right? That was all it was. But then, why hadn't he let go at the same time as Naruto?

When Sakura was back at the castle, she sat, staring up at the ceiling. It was late, and most people were asleep. Sakura got up, and decided that she was going to walk around the castle. It was her castle, so no one could stop her. She needed to clear her mind of the things that had been happening lately, and exploring the castle was the perfect way to do so. As Sakura exited her room, she started thinking about everything that had happened to her lately. _'My life has taken quite the change. I'm no longer Sakura Haruno, the Ninja from Konoha, but now I'm the Princess of Konoha. Life has taken some serious turns that I've never expected. And Gaara, his ancestor is just as messed up as he is. What I would do back home in this predicament is not going to help me here.' _Sakura sighed, as she turned down a hallway. _'And Sasuke. Could he maybe, possibly, somewhat like me? I've liked him for so long, and I thought he could never return the feelings. But lately, I have no clue what's going on with him. Naruto has noticed it too. Around me, he isn't himself. He even held my hands and looked me in the eyes when he gave me advice.' _

Sakura's thoughts were cut off here by the sight of a slightly cracked door, and the voices of two people coming out of it. She crept closer and crouched next to the door, out of view. She then recognized the voices. _'It's Gaara and his father!' _

"I know, Father!" Gaara was talking in a rather loud, uncontrolled voice. "I have to propose soon."

"Then you'll propose tomorrow!" The king nearly shouted at his son.

"How can I when she's recruited that Uchiha to be around." Gaara said with a snort.

"You'll just have to get some time away from him, if you understand." The king was saying. Sakura's eyes widened. She was definitely not letting Sasuke out of her sight tomorrow.

"So I'm supposed to get rid of him?" Gaara asked.

"No, don't kill him; just send him to do something pointless at the time, something that will give you enough time to propose." The king said. "Killing him would cause too much trouble. He's one of the best knights in this pathetic kingdom." Sakura was enraged. Pathetic kingdom! Sure, she had only been here for two days, but this kingdom was definitely not pathetic.

"Fine, father." Gaara said. "I won't kill him. I'll send him ahead to do some scouting for possible danger. Although killing him would be a pleasure. I'd never have to deal with him again."

'_Great, just great.'_ Sakura thought. _'I can't object to Sasuke walking ahead and looking for possible danger. That would be way too suspicious. It would show that I know far too much.' _ Sakura heard people shuffle around inside of the room, and quickly got up, she walked as silently as she could past the door, and then ran back to her room.

Once she had safely shut the door behind her and retreated to her sitting room Sakura sat down to think. She was out of breath from running through the halls, and didn't realize how fast she had been running until she collapsed on the couch. _'What am I going to do? He wanted to kill Sasuke. Oh my god! This is awful. At least he can't. Still, he could try and injure Sasuke. But Sasuke should be able to handle him, right?' _Sakura massaged her temples as she thought more thoroughly of what she was going to do tomorrow. _'I'm not going to bug Kakashi-sensei about this; he has enough trouble keeping Naruto out of trouble. I've already troubled him enough, and Sasuke was right. They can't tell me what to do; I have to decide for myself. I'll just have to read tomorrow's entry before we go and try and figure out what to do. One thing is I can't refuse the proposal. I'm going to have to accept, for the time being. Where I go from there, though, I have no clue.' _

Sakura sighed as she leaned back, hitting her head against the couch in the process. "Ow!" Sakura rubbed the back of her head. _'I should probably get some sleep. But I'm too stressed to get any.'_ Sakura got up and walked around the room. She was unaware that someone was watching her. From the rafters high up in the room, someone watched as her delicate figure walked gracefully around the room. She appeared to be pacing. The figure jumped down, and turned to talk to Sakura.

"You know, I thought Kakashi-sensei taught you better than to let down your guard."

Sakura nearly jumped a mile. She quickly turned around, only to be met with Sasuke. "Sasuke! You scared me half to death! What are you doing sneaking around in my chambers?"

"I couldn't sleep. I have a really bad feeling about tomorrow, Sakura." Sasuke said.

"Um, actually, about tomorrow." Sakura said. "Well, you see, Gaara's going to propose to me while we're on our walk. I was hoping you being there would prevent that, but I'm guessing not."

"So? We knew that this would happen." Sasuke replied calmly.

"Well, the thing is, he wanted to kill you." Sakura said, looking to Sasuke to see his reaction. Sasuke's face kept its same cool demeanor. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"No, not really. I expected something like that, actually. Sakura, the guy hates my guts. What did you expect from him?" Sasuke asked her.

"I don't know." Sakura replied, looking down at the floor, then back up at Sasuke.

"Now answer me this," Sasuke said, "how did you find all this out?"

"Well, I was walking around the castle about an hour ago, and stopped when I heard voices coming from inside a room. I crouched down beside the door when I realized that it was Gaara and his father. I sat down and listened, and then when they stopped talking and I heard them moving in the room, I stood up and ran."

"Sakura, that was really dangerous. That guy would have harmed you, the only reason he would have stopped short of killing you would be the fact that he wants to marry you." Sasuke said, a little bit of alarm in his voice. He was clearly worried about what might have happened to Sakura. The realization that harm could have come to her finally dawned on Sakura. Tears of fear welled up in her eyes.

"I really am stupid. He would have broken my legs in a heartbeat, then I wouldn't have been able to run." Sakura said as tears poured down her face. Sasuke pulled her into a hug, and she sobbed into his chest. "Sasuke, I'm so sorry for being an idiot. My actions affect all of us. Without me, I doubt you guys could ever make it home. I could have gotten all of us stranded here for forever!"

"Shh. Sakura, it's ok. It's done and over with now." Sasuke said as he rubbed her back with his hand, trying to calm her down. Sakura nodded as she buried her face farther into his chest. Sasuke pulled her back and made her look him in the face.

A/N: Cliffie! I don't do these too, too often in my writing, so I decided to put one here. Yea, I know I've been doing a lot of SasuSaku lately; there's been some of it in the past three chapters. And Sasuke is going to be totally OOC in this chapter and possibly the next one. Reviews are much appreciated!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Sakura nodded as she buried her face farther into his chest. Sasuke pulled her back and made her look him in the face. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He leaned his face closer to hers, and she tilted her head up as he gently placed his lips on hers for a few seconds. He pulled away, and Sakura looked startled.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, I shouldn't have-" Sasuke started but was cut off by Sakura placing her lips against his lightly.

"Don't be sorry, Sasuke." Sakura said as she hugged him tight. "I-I thought that you hated me. All this time, I've loved you, and I thought that you just hated me."

"Sakura, I'm so sorry. It's just, I didn't want anyone to harm you." Sasuke said as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Why would anyone harm me?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, you have to remember," Sasuke said, "my brother is still out there. He killed my entire clan. Who knows what he would do to get to me."

"So all this time, you really did like me?" Sakura asked, a warm feeling filling up her heart.

"No, Sakura," Sasuke said, and Sakura looked up at him, startled once again, her heart filling with a cold, empty hole, only to be warmed right back up again. "I haven't liked you, I've loved you."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Sakura asked him.

"Because, you need to know I'm here for you. I'd do anything to help you. And I understand what you have to do tomorrow." Sasuke said. "You have to accept the proposal, or we could all die at the hands of the prince. He knows that my ancestor liked your ancestor. The only reason he won't kill me tomorrow is so that he can still marry you and keep the alliance between your kingdoms."

"Thank you, Sasuke." Sakura whispered. "You have no idea how much this means to me. I knew that you, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei will be there for me, but knowing that you're here, and that you understand what I'm doing and why, it just helps so much." Silent tears began to flow from her eyes as she squeezed them shut.

"Come on, Princess, you need to get some sleep." Sasuke said as he laid her down on the couch.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked her friends retreating back.

"Yea?" He asked back.

"I'm sorry that I got you guys into this mess." She said.

"Don't be." Sasuke replied as he climbed out the window, concentrating the flow of chakra to his feet so that he could walk down the side of the castle, unnoticed by all those who slumbered. Well, unnoticed by everyone except a silver haired man who just happened to be walking around the grounds, and just happened to be under the window at that exact moment. He smiled to himself as he continued his walk.

The next day, Sakura woke up to Ino standing over her. "You fell asleep reading again?" Her friend inquired. "What are we going to do with you?" Ino shook her head.

"I'm not sure." Sakura said with a small smile.

"Well, you'd better go and get yourself changed into a new dress. That monster of yours is going to be here any minute now." Ino said mockingly.

"Don't let him hear you say that, Ino. He may just kill you." Sakura said. She trusted Ino with her life, as did her ancestor, but there was no way she was telling this girl what she had over heard last night. The least that could happen was a little teasing, the most, well, that would be death. And not just her. Sakura felt sure that both Ino and Sasuke would die at the hands of the prince of he found out about last night because Ino had accidentally let her mouth slip. It could happen to anyone. So Sakura got up and walked to her bed chambers, pulling out a golden yellow dress that had a gold braid trim around the waist and at the ends of the sleeves, as well as under her bosom. She quickly pulled on the ensemble, and went into the sitting room, where Ino was waiting.

"You look really great, Sakura." Ino said. And then with a scowl she added, "I just wish you were getting all dressed up for Sasuke and not Gaara." Sakura almost sighed, but she caught herself. If only her friend knew how true that statement was. Sure, Sakura had taken only a couple of minutes to find the dress she was wearing, but when she had gone through the clothes a couple of days ago, she had deemed it as one of the princess' prettiest gowns. And since Sasuke was accompanying them today, Sakura wanted to look her best.

"Thanks, Ino." Sakura said with a sad smile.

"Well, I'm going to go fetch something for you to eat. You don't need to go into the dining hall this morning." Ino said as she scrunched up her nose. The thought of the drunks from last night who could very well still be lying on the floor struck her as awful, and the princess just didn't need to be around that.

When Ino had left, Sakura quickly pulled out the diary from the hiding place in the wall she had found. There was a gap that was just the right size for the diary to fit into without being noticed. She scanned the princess' entry for the day, and found it disturbingly vague.

_Gaara proposed today. I accepted. Under the conditions, I dared not refuse. Our walk went fairly well, for walking with one such as him. I was glad to see that Sasuke was unharmed. Kiba seems to be fairing well, he is as happy as ever tending to the dogs. I must go now, time lies thin. _

This was the shortest entry in the entire book, summing up not even a quarter of the page. Someone must have been pressing the Princess so that she could not go into farther detail. She sighed. This meant that she would not be left alone tonight. And she hoped the company she received wasn't Gaara. Though she most feared the fact that it was people bugging her about the up coming wedding.

'_This is going to be such fun.'_ Sakura thought, which was draped with a certain sarcasm. She very well knew that this wasn't going to be fun at all.

A/N: ok, so way, way OOC Sasuke there, but I warned you guys! Also, sorry for the short chapter, but if I wrote it any farther I wouldn't have anywhere to cut of for the next chapter. Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

'_This is going to be such fun.'_ Sakura thought, which was draped with a certain sarcasm. She very well knew that this wasn't going to be fun at all.

"Princess, the Prince is here to see you, as well as Sasuke." Hinata said as she stepped into the room.

"Thank you, Hinata." Sakura said as she got up, dreading what was to come.

When she stepped out into the entrance room, Gaara bowed and kissed her hand. "Princess." Sakura curtsied in response.

"Your highness." Sasuke said as he bowed to her. Sakura had to keep herself from laughing seeing Sasuke address her like this. She nodded at him, and they exited her room. Once they were out of the castle, Gaara spoke up. "Which way are we supposed to go?"

"Oh, this way," Sakura said as she led them in the proper direction.

"Ah, ok then." Gaara said as he walked in step with Sakura, Sasuke trailing behind them.

"So, Princess, how have you been the past couple of days?" Gaara asked her.

"Oh, I've been wonderful, thank you." Sakura replied. "How have you been?"

As Sakura and Gaara chatted on, Sasuke thought to himself, _'Sakura is really good at this pretending thing. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she wants to marry this guy.' _

"You, behind us." Gaara said in a tone that snapped Sasuke from his thoughts. He contemplated glaring at the guy, but decided against it.

"Yes, your highness?" Sasuke said with a small hint of bitterness showing in his voice, despite his attempt to hide it.

"Go scout out the area ahead of us; make sure there's no one up head." Gaara ordered.

Sasuke looked at Sakura, and saw a look of panic come over her face, but it was quickly replaced by her calm expression. Although it didn't cover the fear in her eyes. She was still unsure if anything would happen to Sasuke or not. "Yes, your highness." As Sasuke passed Sakura he gave her a look that said 'Be brave, I know you can do this.' Sakura gave a slight nod, showing that she understood.

As Sasuke walked ahead of them, Gaara slowed down just a bit, making Sakura slow down as well.

"Princess," Gaara started, "you know that an alliance has been formed between our two kingdoms. And I'm sure that you also know how happy this makes the kingdom of Suna. Throughout the time that I've been here, I've noticed what a lovely person that you are. I know that a marriage between us would make our fathers very happy, so, Would you marry me?"

'_NO! NO I WON"T MARRY YOU!' _Sakura wanted to scream, but she knew better than that, she knew what she had to do. "Yes, Gaara, I will." She said with a very emotionless face. It was actually quite paler than it had been earlier. Gaara slid a plain silver band onto her finger, and they continued their walk, although it was rather silent now.

When they had finally caught up to Sasuke, he noticed the silver band that sparkled on Sakura's finger. Very plain, and very unlike the princes that was wearing it. But then, maybe that's how things were done back in the Middle Ages.

"Well?" Gaara asked, annoyed at the failure to report promptly what had been seen.

"Everything's clear." Sasuke said.

"Good." Gaara replied.

"Thank you, Sasuke." Sakura said, and Sasuke knew that she didn't just mean for scouting out ahead. She meant for being here now, when she needed him, even though he couldn't do anything.

"You're welcome, Your Highness." Sasuke said with a bow. Sakura smiled at him. Gaara glared at him. Sasuke resisted the urge to smirk.

"We're almost to the dog cabin." Sakura said, more to herself than to her companions. Her statement was true, you could already hear the dogs barking, as well as hear Kiba's voice while he tried to get them to quiet down. When Sakura thought about it, maybe she should've sent word to him that they were coming. It was too late now.

"Kiba?" Sakura yelled. "Where are you?"

"Princess! What a surprise! Have you come to visit your dogs? Or to see the new litter of puppies?"

"There's new puppies?" Sakura asked, her face lighting up.

"Of course, I sent word for them to tell you about them so that you could come see them." Kiba said, sounding a bit confused.

"Oh, they never told me." Sakura said. Sasuke made a sound and Sakura quickly realized why they were here. "Oh, Kiba! How incredibly rude of me! This is Gaara, Prince of Suna." Sakura said as she introduced the red head to her friend.

"It's nice to meet you , Your Highness." Kiba said with a bow.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you too." Gaara said. "My fiancée was telling me that you're the best dog handler in the kingdom of Konoha. I've come to see your dogs."

Kiba gave Sakura a look. And mouthed, "Fiancée?" Sakura just shrugged back. She couldn't explain to her friend now, not with him standing right there. Kiba turned back to Gaara, "I see the princess has again been exaggerating about my abilities."

"Oh, Kiba! Stop being modest! You very well know that you are the best! And all of your dogs are exquisite!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Well, since you're here to see my dogs, I won't keep you waiting any longer. Princess, will you be joining us? Or would you rather see the puppies?" Kiba asked.

Sakura nearly jumped for joy at the option. Gaara could do nothing about it because Kiba had decided he was getting a tour through the kennels, and there was no stopping a determined Kiba, as she had found out from the diary. "I'd like to see the puppies. You two go ahead on your tour. I've seen it all so many times." Sakura said with a smile.

Kiba nodded and steered Gaara away towards the kennels.

Sakura then turned towards Sasuke. "Well, let's go see the puppies!" Sakura exclaimed as she turned towards the little house, Sasuke trailing behind her.

Once they were inside the cabin, Sasuke spoke. "I'm sorry, Sakura."

"Don't be. I'm glad that you could come and just give me some support." Sakura said with a meek smile as she walked over to a corner where some little puppies were sleeping on a bed of rags next to their mother.

"Well, I couldn't do more than that for you. I wish I could get you out of this mess, but I have no clue how." Sasuke said as he stood over the puppies and Sakura who sat next to them. The mother dog obviously new Sakura, and Sakura guessed this was her ancestor's personnel dog, Ayame.

"Don't worry about it, really Sasuke. We'll all figure a way out of this together. You, me, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei."

"Yea, you're right." Sasuke said. Sakura picked up one of the puppies.

"Look how little she is." Sakura said as she cradled her in her arms.

"Yea, she's really tiny." Sasuke said, looking at the little dog that Sakura was holding.

"Here, you hold her. Ayame won't mind, isn't that right girl?" Sakura said as she stood up, handed the dog to Sasuke, then sat back down to pet Ayame. She smiled up at Sasuke who was holding the little dog in his hands. She looked even smaller now. Sakura giggled a little bit. "She's, adorable, isn't she?"

"Hn." Sasuke replied as he set the puppy back down with her brothers and sisters. Sakura stood up again and hugged Sasuke. "What's this for?"

"It's just because I can." Sakura said as she smelled his shirt. He smelled so good. Sasuke buried his nose into her hair, thinking the same thing. They stayed like that for what seemed forever, until Ayame began to bark. Sakura then reluctantly pulled away and then quickly sat back down next to the puppies. Just at that instant, Kiba and Gaara walked in.

"See, your Highness, I told you she'd be right here." Kiba said to Gaara.

"Hn." Gaara said.

"And Sasuke is right here protecting her from anything that could harm her." Kiba added. Gaara scowled a bit at this.

"Well, Kiba, thank you s much for the visit. And Ayame's puppies are wonderful. I'll come back and visit soon, I hope." Sakura said with a smile.

"No, thank you for visiting, Princess. It's always a pleasure having you down to visit." Kiba said with a small bow. Then he turned and bowed to Gaara, "It was also a pleasure meeting you, your Highness."

"Hn, Yes." Gaara replied as he put his hand under Sakura's elbow and escorted her out of the cabin.

"Sasuke?" Kiba said be fore the knight left.

"Hn?" Sasuke replied.

"Watch out for her. She defiantly would have been better off with you in my opinion, that guy said some scary things on our tour, and I don't want him hurting her." Kiba replied to his friend.

"Don't worry, I will." Sasuke said as he followed the couple back to the castle.

A/N: I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. I don't really like it, and it was hard for me to write. I don't really think it's that good…Also, for everyone who helped me get through the couple of weeks after my cat Zoe died, I'd like to let you guys know that my family went to the animal shelter yesterday and we adopted a cat. She's around two years old, and we named her Isabelle, Izzy for short. We pick her up from the vet tomorrow. She'll never replace Zoe, but I'm glad that we can make another animal a part of our family. -


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Don't worry, I will." Sasuke said as he followed the couple back to the castle.

**In Sakura's Room **

"Princess?" Sakura's eye twitched. How had her ancestor dealt with this? There were people everywhere, asking her opinion on details for a wedding that she didn't want to happen.

"Yes?" Sakura asked, her annoyed tone coming out in the word, but the person speaking either didn't notice or didn't care.

'Which color would you like for your dress? And which gems do you want sewn into it?" So this person was the seamstress.

'_Joy of joys.' _Sakura thought. "White silk, with pink diamonds. And I want the diamonds scattered throughout the skirt. Oh, and I want a band of them going around my waist with a big one at the center front. I also want the fabric bunched up in the back, so that it flows in a train. And another big pink diamond at the top of the gathered fabric." _'Let's see the seamstresses of the Middle Ages complete that on time.' _

"Yes, Princess. We'll start on it right away." The seamstress said as she bowed her way out of the room.

"Princess, your father has sent you the guest list he has come up with for you. He wants your approval of it." Another maid stepped into the room.

'_Where are my maids?' _Sakura thought. She would have been fine if it had been her friends dealing with her. But Ino, TenTen, and Hinata were no where to be found. Most likely doing something for her mother that dealt with the wedding. She sighed as she thanked the maid and picked up the list. It was just a bunch of nobles and so on. _'I know I'm not supposed to draw attention to myself, but I think the real princess would have done the same.' _Sakura thought as she added some names to the bottom of the list.

They were:

Ino

TenTen

Hinata

Kiba

Naruto

Kakashi

Sasuke

So what if the majority of them were servants? They were her friends, and her ancestors as well. I mean, who else were you going to befriend if you didn't leave the palace much?

"Here." Sakura said handing it back to the maid. The maid bowed and backed out of the room. Unfortunately for Sakura, there were still a ton of people buzzing around her, asking questions that Sakura answered with a nod of her head. She was starting to get a headache.

"Princess, there's someone here to see you." A maid said as she led Kakashi-sensei in.

"Princess." he said as he bowed.

"Master Kakashi, what brings you here?" Sakura asked, silently thanking God for an interruption from all of the buzzing maids.

"Since you missed our lesson earlier, I thought that maybe we could have it now, or perhaps a walk in the gardens." Kakashi said.

"A walk in the gardens would be lovely.' Sakura said as she stood up, ready to follow Kakashi out of the room.

"Princess, we really need to get your opinion on these things." One of the maids said and the rest nodded their heads.

"I'll be back in an about an hour, we can do that then." Sakura said firmly as she walked out the door.

When they were in the garden, Sakura sighed. "So, why did you really come see me, Sensei?"

"Well, Sasuke came and talked to me." Kakashi said. "And I figured that you could use a break from all of those maids right about now."

"Well, you were right about that." Sakura said. "So what exactly did Sasuke tell you?"

"He just told me what happened today." Kakashi said. "How Gaara made him walk ahead of the two of you, then he proposed, and that you accepted. So what are you going to do now?" Kakashi asked. He had just left out the fact that Sasuke had come to him for advice about Sakura. But Sasuke had asked him not to tell anyone, so he didn't, yet.

"I really don't know. It's so hectic, sensei. And I don't even have a minute to think, everyone's asking me questions all at once, and Gaara, I don't even know…" Sakura said with a sigh.

"Well, you know we're here to help you through this." Kakashi said.

"I know you guys are. It's just, sensei, what am I going to do?" Sakura asked, looking up to Kakashi, waiting for his advice.

"Well, Sakura, what would your ancestor have done, and most importantly, what do you want to do?" Kakashi asked, looking at his pupil seriously.

"What I think?" Sakura asked, confused. She thought she needed to think like her ancestor here.

"Yes. We haven't gotten out of this yet, and I don't know if we'll get out of it by the wedding date. I don't want you to be in a situation that you don't want to be in just because your ancestor would have done it for her kingdom." Kakashi said. "Up until now we've been careful about what we do so as to not give ourselves away, to not let anyone know that we're from the future. But I think the time for that is gone."

"Well, sensei, if it's my choice," Sakura said, "I want to follow Ino's advice. And get out of here."

"Ok." Kakashi said, running a hand through his hair. "When?"

"You're ok with that?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, I am. I don't know if we'll have to go with you or not, but we need to be prepared. So when do you want to escape?' Kakashi asked her.

"Well, if we leave too early, they'll just come and find me and bring me back, and if you guys come with me, you'll b punished, even killed. And I can't wait until after the wedding, because by then I'll be on my way to Suna with the Prince." Sakura said, trying to figure things out.

"So?" Kakashi asked.

"So we'll have to leave right before the wedding. The day of, and only a few hours before, if possible. Most people will be preoccupied with last minute preparations, and we'll be able to slip out more easily." Sakura said thoughtfully.

"The day of the wedding it is." Kakashi said.

"The only problem is, the wedding is next Sunday. And today's Thursday. We don't have too long to prepare." Sakura said.

A/N: Ok, I'm so sorry for the late update, and again, short chapter! Things aren't good at my house, because my grandmother is dying, and my mom flew down to be with her, so I'm getting my one sister ready for school, and then watching my other sister while my dad's at work. Ands then I have my summer reading that I put off until last minute, which I can't seem to find the time to do…Well, reviews are much appreciated! Also, school starts next Tuesday for me, and I'm thinking I'm going to get an avalanche of school work, so my updates won't be as frequent.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"The day of the wedding it is." Kakashi said.

"The only problem is, the wedding is next Sunday. And today's Thursday. We don't have too long to prepare." Sakura said.

"Hmm…" Kakashi said. "Yes, you're right about that. Well, I'll get word to Sasuke and Naruto about this. You need to take care of all the preparations for the wedding. And please don't go looking for Sasuke. It won't do to arouse suspicion. It's bad enough that I saw him climbing out your window the other night, imagine if it had been someone other than me."

"You saw him?" Sakura asked with a slight blush. "I thought everyone was asleep, and, well, I didn't think anyone would be wandering the grounds…"

"You were wrong there; the guards were walking the grounds as well as me. If it had been one of them…Well, Sasuke could have been in a lot of trouble." Kakashi said.

'_And here I thought I'd escaped the lecture.' _Sakura thought to herself, while she said, "Oh, I'm sorry, sensei."

"You two just shouldn't let it happen again." Kakashi said.

"We were just talking." Sakura said, lying slightly. They had been talking. They had just been hugging and shared a kiss or two as well.

"As I thought, but someone else might think it was something else." Kakashi said.

Sakura blushed. "You're right sensei. I should have thought about that."

"Well, we just can't let it happen again. Now I think it's about time that you get back to deal with those wedding preparations." Kakashi said.

"But Kakashi-sensei, I really don't want to!" Sakura protested. "Can't I just make a clone and-"Sakura started but was cut off by her sensei.

"No, Sakura. If someone sees you in one place and then the other, we're busted." Kakashi said firmly.

"Fine." Sakura said, sighing in defeat. She would have to go back to her room and face all those maids asking questions. The only thing that kept her from running away now were all of those knights that would surely be after her as soon as her father said the word.

"Let's go back to the castle." Kakashi said as he turned around and Sakura followed suit. As they did so, Sakura heard a slight rustle coming fro one of the rose bushes, she turned around and looked, but seeing nothing she shrugged it off as nothing.

When she arrived back at the room, a group of maids was waiting to hear the princess' take on their particular matter for the wedding.

"Princess, come over here first!" called one maid who had some things laid out on a table.

"No, Princess! Come and answer my questions first!" another maid said.

"No! Me first!" Another maid exclaimed as they all started arguing about who the Princess would speak with first.

'_Why can't they have invented aspirin yet?' _Sakura groaned inwardly. "Ok! Everybody, just be quiet!" She yelled, her head pounding as she did so. Maybe she should have asked Kakashi sensei if he had any aspirin when they were on their walk. Too late now. At this point, all of the maids had their eyes on Sakura. "Alright." Sakura said now that she had their attention. "Everybody line up over here. You're going to tell me what you need and then I'm going to reply. Line up depending on how long you've served here." The maids did as they were told, and Sakura delt with them going down the line.

After what felt like forever, Sakura was finally finished with all of the maids. She plopped down on the couch and just closed her eyes, willing her head to stop hurting.

"Sakura?" A voice said from the doorway. Sakura sat straight up, surprised that anyone had entered her room without having someone announce their presence to her.

"Naruto. What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

"Well, Kakashi-sensei called Sasuke and I to his room to talk to us. Apparently Sasuke knows some stuff that I don't, and I want it explained." Naruto said stubbornly.

"Naruto, do we have to go through this now?" Sakura asked her friend.

"I'm not leaving until we do." Naruto said as he sat down next to her.

"Fine." Sakura said. "What do you want to know?"

"What's going on with Gaara, first off." Naruto asked his friend.

"Well, right now, I'm engaged to him, I guess." Sakura said. "But I don't want to be. I accepted his proposal with the reason that even if I turned it down the king would force me to marry him. I'm planning on all of us running away a couple of hours before the wedding. Answer your question?"

"That answers one of them." Naruto said. "So what's going on between you and Sasuke?"

"Well…"Sakura started. "I don't really know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Naruto asked.

"Well, you know that I like him, but that's about it." Sakura said. She knew Naruto knew that she liked Sasuke, but she doubted that Naruto knew that Sasuke liked her as well.

"Really?" Naruto asked. "I wonder why Kakashi-sensei was giving him advice about you, then."

"Sasuke went to Kakashi-sensei for advice?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"Well, I'm guessing that he did because Kakashi-sensei said something about how the advice he gave him about you was working." Naruto said.

'_Kakashi-sensei gave Sasuke advice about me, and then asked how it worked, yet he told us to keep away from each other?! It's like he wants us to break that rule.' _Sakura thought. "I don't know, Naruto. I really don't know what's going on."

"Ok, well, I guess that's all I needed to know for now. Oh, and Kakashi-sensei asked me to give this to you. He said something about you needing it." Naruto said as he handed Sakura a bottle of aspirin. "He said just to keep it hidden."

"Thank you so much, Naruto!" Sakura said as she hugged her friend.

"Um, you're welcome?" Naruto asked more than said. It was just a bottle of aspirin. "Well, I'd better get going. I can only be here for so long."

"Ok, bye then." Sakura said, a bit reluctantly since she didn't want her friend to go.

"Don't worry. Kakashi-sensei said I can come back every couple of days. He just said Sasuke can't come here." Naruto said with a grin to his friend as he left the room. Sakura sighed as she took some aspirin out of the bottle, turned to the pitcher of water on the table and poured a small glass.

'_He read my mind.' _Sakura thought gratefully as she took the medicine.

A/N: So sorry for the late update. Things have been very busy around here. My grandmother passed away last Monday, and we've been very busy with that happening. There wasn't too much time for typing, although I somehow had time to turn out two chapters…one for this story and one for Konoha High: The Homecoming. Well, I hope this chapter is ok, I've been having a lot of trouble typing up good stuff lately…Reviews are much appreciated.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

'_He read my mind.' _Sakura thought gratefully as she took the medicine.

Friday passed being uneventful, just the maids buzzing around. Some seamstresses came and measured Sakura for her dress while she inwardly smirked. She had given them a modern day dress design. There was no way that they'd be able to make it, and even if they could, not in time for the wedding. But they were obviously trying. Still, all day Friday Sakura didn't see Sasuke, Kakashi or even Naruto. And her maids had only come in once! I mean, they were her ancestors best friends, shouldn't they be there supporting her right now?

Saturday, however, was the busiest day of all. Sakura had to help oversee the decorating of the great hall for the wedding feast that would take place after her wedding to Gaara. She was starting to wish that she had never asked Kakashi if she could make a clone and then go else where, and had just done it. But Sakura wasn't that kind of girl, so she had asked and gotten the answer no.

"Princess, where would you like this to be placed?" A servant holding a statue of Sakura asked. Sakura had already directed her to a table earlier when she had a small statue of Gaara.

"Over on the table, where I told you to put the other one." Sakura said. She really wanted to strangle these maids and servants right about now.

"Yes, Princess." The servant said as he carried it over and set it so that it was right next to the one of Gaara.

"Princess?" Sakura heard a familiar voice. She spun around to see Ino and her face practically lit up.

"Yes?" Sakura asked her friend.

"I need you to come with me to try on your wedding dress." Ino said.

"Ok. We can go right now." Sakura said as she followed Ino out of the room. "You're a life saver." Sakura said to her friend as soon as they were out of earshot of the people bustling around the Great Hall.

"Sh. People can still see us. We can't talk here. I'm still just a servant." Ino said as she waited for Sakura to pass her so that she could pass and Ino could follow her to her chambers. When they were three and Ino had shut the door, she turned towards Sakura.

"You know better than to talk to me as if we were friends when we aren't in the confinements of this room. What's gotten into you?" Ino asked, looking at Sakura in a weird way.

"Well, I guess I just forgot." Sakura said. Uh-oh. That was the only mistake that she needed to ruin this entire thing for all of them.

"But you never forget anything." Ino said.

"It must just be the stress of the wedding." Sakura said.

"No." Ino said as she shook her head slowly. "You're the one who made that rule. You'd never forget it. You said it was too important to ever forget." Then Ino looked as if a realization had struck her. "You aren't the real princess." She whispered.

"Ino, no. Please, just let me explain." Sakura said, she was starting to get panicked. If Ino told one person, the entire course of history would be ruined. Just having Ino know this one little fact could change history.

"Explain what? What's going on? Where's the real Princess?" Ino asked quickly.

"Ino, please sit down. I shouldn't have tried to keep this from you. I should've known it wouldn't work." Sakura said as she guided her friend to the couch.

"You'd better explain, and if it's not good, I'm calling the guards." Ino said. "Although they probably won't believe me…"

"Ok, well, here goes nothing." Sakura said, taking a deep breath. "You have to promise not to flip out on me, ok?" Ino nodded her head. "Well, you're right, I'm not the princess. In fact, I'm from the future. I'm the princess' ancestor. You see, I was in my house, going through some boxes that I had when I found a dress. The same dress that the princess wore the first day I became her. The red one with pearl's sewn into it. In the box were a few things that were pretty old, and now I've figured out that they came from this time period. Among them was a bracelet. Maybe the Princess had shown it to you? I don't know. It was gold, with emerald's in the shape of the Konoha symbol. It had an engraving on the inside as well."

"_To my Cherry blossom, love your Onyx Knight._" Ino gasped at the same time that Sakura said it. Sakura looked at her.

"You see," Ino said, "Sasuke was supposed to give that bracelet to the princess, he showed it to me. But…well, I thought he still had it in his possession."

"And the Sasuke that's here now does." Sakura said with a sigh. "You see, I put that bracelet on, and we were transported back here. I don't know how, and I certainly don't know why, but it happened. Master Kakashi? He's really my sensei from back home. And Naruto, the stable hand? He's one of my teammates. Sasuke is one of my teammates as well. He's the modern day Sasuke, the one from my time period. I don't know what happened to the people that we took the places of, but all I know is that they aren't here. We've tried to get back, but nothing that we've tried has worked.And all I know is I wish that none of this had ever happened. Half the decisions I made were wild guesses. Tell me, Ino, do you believe me?"

"How could I not?" Ino said. "It does make sense. The first day you were here, I remember that day. You didn't trust me at first. I could tell, but I didn't say anything. And then you not immediately agreeing to run away. And voluntarily going to your lessons with Master Kakashi? It was obvious, I just didn't see it." Ino said.

"So do you think other people noticed the changes as well?" Sakura asked, worried.

"No," Ino said. "Just me. Maybe TenTen or Hinata, but most likely just me. I'm the princess' best friend. I should be the only one who figured it out."

"That's a relief." Sakura said as she sank down on the couch.

"What are you doing?" Ino asked her.

"Resting." Sakura said.

"No, you have a dress to try on." Ino said. "You have to be convincing, and I can help you with that for however long you're here."

"How long do you think it will be, Ino?" Sakura asked her friend.

"That's up to you." Ino said as she helped her friend step into the dress. She then buttoned up the back of it.

"I shouldn't have made the decision to marry Gaara. I'm not ready to be married yet." Sakura said as she looked at her dress.

"Then you're leaving tomorrow." Ino said decisively.

Sakura looked at her friend. "What do you mean, who told you that?"

"You said you aren't ready for marriage, you aren't the princess, so obviously this isn't your problem." Ino said. "So I'm going to help you get out of here."

"Ino, I wasn't going to tell you this, because I didn't want you getting in trouble when I was gone, but Kakashi-sensei and I made plans to leave a few hours before the wedding." Sakura said. "You know what's funny?"

"What?" Ino asked.

"This is always how I've always wanted my wedding dress to actually look. I didn't think these seamstresses could do it, but I guess I was wrong." Sakura said.

"Yea, they're pretty good with a needle and thread." Ino said. "And it fits nicely."

"So people back here actually wore dresses this tight?" Sakura asked. It was definitely tighter than she would have expected, but it wasn't so tight that she felt like her circulation was cut off.

Ino laughed. "Yea, they do."

"Ok, that's good." Sakura said.

"So, Ino said, "what can I get for you guys? I'm already planning on packing your bag with the things that you'll need in it."

Sakura looked at Ino. "If you could get some food that would be great."

"No problem." Ino said as she hugged her friend. "Everything is going to turn out ok, you'll see."

A/N: Ok, so I kind of had writer's block at the beginning of the chapter, but then I got the idea of Sakura doing something just too out of character so that Ino would notice, and well, my fingers worked faster than my brain. Meaning I was just typing and not thinking it out, and I do kind of like the way that this chapter ended up. Well, reviews are much appreciated!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"No problem." Ino said as she hugged her friend. "Everything is going to turn out ok, you'll see."

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny, much to Sakura's dismay. Even though she knew that she would be leaving before the wedding, she kept hoping that something would postpone the wedding. Bad weather had been at the top of her list. She knew that escaping now was important, but her nerves kept getting to her. Yes, she was a ninja, and no, she wasn't normally afraid of doing things this simple, but the thought that messing up anything in the slightest could alter the entire course of history, that scared her. If just one person knew, everything could change. She had already risked everything by allowing Ino to find out. Kakashi had lectured her thoroughly after she had told him, but there was nothing that he could do to change anything. And he knew it. So he just had to give in and accept Ino's help.

"Sakura, you need to wake up now." Sakura groaned and rolled over, burying her face in the pillow and muttering 'five more minutes', even though she had already woken up and looked out her window minutes earlier.

"Come on, Sakura. You're never going to pull this off if you don't wake up." Her friend hissed the words into her ear, causing Sakura to bolt up.

"Ok, I'm up, happy?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." Ino said.

"Now, the wedding is in about six hours. We have a lot to do before then." Ino said with a wink. She knew that Sakura was leaving at two, an hour before the wedding started, with her friends.

"Of course we do." Sakura said with a little laugh. "Did you pack everything that I'm going to need?"

"Yes, I did." Ino said, handing Sakura a sack with some things in it to show her. It was pretty heavy, so Sakura went to open it, but Ino stopped her. "Don't open it until you're far away from here, ok?"

Sakura looked at her friend. "Ok."

"Good." Ino said. "Now, what dress are you going to wear today?"

"The same one that my ancestor wore on this day." Sakura replied heading over to the trunk where she had stashed it. She then pulled out the silk dress with the pearls all over it. "This one."

"Ok then." Ino said. "I'll get you some breakfast. You have a big day ahead of you." Ino then went in the other room and came back with a small tray with a variety of foods on it.

"Thanks, Ino. You're the greatest." Sakura said, hugging her friend.

"No problem. I know that you would help me out if I were in your situation." Ino said returning the hug.

"Ok. So, we have all the details down, right?" Sakura asked.

"Ya, I still can't believe the abilities that you guys have." Ino said shaking her head at her friend's plan, which she had been informed of the previous night by Kakashi. They were the same ones that had been made in the garden the other day. Sakura was going to make a shadow clone to keep the maids busy. The clone would be prepared fro the wedding in Sakura's place. Hopefully no one would notice the difference. She would then sneak out her window, leaving the clone in her chambers. Kakashi was going to give her a signal when the time is right so that she won't be seen. She was then to sneak to the stables where she would hide in Naruto's room. At exactly two o' clock, Sasuke and Kakashi would make their ways to the stable, where Sakura and Naruto would be waiting for them.

"It's really simple. If I were staying longer, I would teach you." Sakura said.

"Ya, I know." Ino said. "It's too bad that all this stuff had to happen. So, do you think that we'll ever see each other again after this?"

"I'm not sure. It all depends on if we get back to the present or not." Sakura said.

'What do you think is going to happen to the Princess when you do eventually go back?' Ino asked, and Sakura could see the worry on her friend's face.

"She'll probably end up wherever I was. So she probably won't be around here, at least not where anyone would be able to find her easily." Sakura said.

"I thought as much." Ino said with a little sigh. "If I didn't think that I would be a burden to you guys on your journey, I would try to accompany you, that way the princess would understand what was going on around her and where she was."

"I know." Sakura said. "But I'll leave clues for you. You can follow behind. Trust me, Ino. You're going to have to get out of here shortly after us. Horrible things are going to happen. Things that will destroy this place."

"What do you mean?" Ino asked.

"I don't think I can tell you. It might change history." Sakura said, giving her friend a sad smile.

"I understand. And I'll heed your advice." Ino said. "Now let's get you ready for today."

**Later**

"Sakura, it's almost time." Ino said, sadly.

"Ya, I know." Sakura said. "I guess I'd better get my part done." Sakura closed her eyes and focused, "Shadow clone jutsu." Instantly, another Sakura appeared next to her.

Ino's eyes widened. Yes, Sakura had told her what would happen, but she hadn't known exactly how identical the clone would look. "It's amazing how much she looks like you."

"That's the point." Sakura said with a small laugh.

"Well, we'd better wait at the window." Ino said, walking towards the window with her friend. "I wonder what the signal will be?"

"I'm not sure. Kakashi-sensei said that I'd know it when I saw it." Sakura turned and hugged her friend. "Thanks so much, for everything, Ino. I'm going to miss you. You've been such a great help, and such a great friend."

"No problem. I'm going to miss you, too." Ino said, hugging her back. "Oh, tell my descendant hello when you see her again, ok?"

"Don't worry, I will." Sakura said, smiling to herself, wondering if her best friend back home would ever believe any of this. Both girls then turned towards the window, watching. Suddenly, Sakura saw something that was out of place. It was a breeze, but not just any breeze. This breeze carried pink petals with it.

"Ino," Sakura gasped, "that's the signal."

A/N: ok, one or two chapters left here. I'm going to try to make it two, but it would be stretching it really thin. I'm really upset that this story is nearing the end so quickly, I've had so much fun writing it, and you guys have made it all the better. Well, reviews are much appreciated!!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Ino," Sakura gasped, "that's the signal."

"You'd better go. You don't know how long you'll have." Ino said.

"Right." Sakura said as she started climbing out the window, already pushing chakra to her feet. When she was out side the window she turned to her friend, "Bye, Ino. I'll never forget you." She then walked down the side of the castle, and made her way to the stable, praying that Naruto was ready for her to come, and praying that that was really the signal. She walked casually, so that if anyone saw her, they wouldn't think anything was wrong. The Princess was just out for a walk before she was married, going to be with her horse. When Sakura arrived at the stables, she opened the door a crack and slipped inside. Naruto was waiting for her.

"Is Iruka gone?" Sakura asked quietly. She wasn't taking any chances that he was still around.

"Ya, he went to the castle to help to with some stuff." Naruto said. "We have the stable to ourselves. Come on, I'll show you where my room is incase someone comes in."

Sakura merely nodded her head as she followed Naruto up a ladder, into a loft that had a few dividing pieces of wood setup. Sakura looked past one and saw that it was a teeny, tiny room. It was extremely tiny compared to the way that Sakura had been living and it had hay piled in a corner of the room with a blanket on top to serve as a bed. There were hooks with a change of spare clothes on it, but that was about it there than a broken shard of a mirror. It was horrible, yet Naruto hadn't complained to her once about it.

"Naruto." Sakura said. "I can't believe you haven't said something to me about this."

Naruto shrugged. "What was there to say? I couldn't go asking you for a bigger room. People would become suspicious. So I've just been putting up with it. Besides, if my ancestor could live this way, so can I!"

'_Naruto's acting really mature. Back home he would've been whining worse than ever.' _Sakura thought to herself. "Ya, you're right."

"So, make yourself comfortable. You can sit on the bed if you want." Naruto motioned to the pile of straw in the corner. "If someone comes you can hide in it. That way no one should figure out you're here. Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei should be here soon, anyways." 

"Ok." Sakura said, sitting down on top of the blanket, placing her sack next to her. She had almost forgotten she was carrying it, and when she set it down she saw the imprint that the rope had left on her hands. She sighed as she rubbed her hands together, hoping that it would help the imprint disappear faster. "So, Naruto, how do you think all of this is going to work out?"

"I think it's going to all be ok." Naruto said firmly. "Kakashi-sensei wouldn't do anything that could possibly end up with us getting hurt."

"Ya, you're right." Sakura said. "Naruto, are you nervous at all?"

"…"She was answered by silence.

"Because I am." Sakura said with a sigh. "Just thinking about how this is all my fault in the first place, and how one little detail wrong could destroy history as we know it, it scares me. A lot."

"Don't worry, Sakura. Everything will be fine. And you won't screw up." Naruto said. "You just have to believe in yourself, ok?"

"Alright." Sakura said, still sounding unsure of all this herself.

"Well, just remember that we're going to protect you no matter what. Nothing will happen to you." Naruto said, flashing Sakura a grin.

Sakura smiled a small smile at him. "Thanks, Naruto." Just then, the hurried footsteps of someone running were heard from outside.

"Sakura, quick! Into the hay!" Naruto whispered frantically. Sakura didn't hesitate to do as she was told. She was nervous, and now she was frightened. She became even more frightened when she heard that the voice wasn't Sasuke's or Kakashi's.

"Naruto, what are you doing up here?" Sakura realized that it was Iruka. "I thought I told you to muck out the stables."

"I already did, Iruka." Naruto said. "Go look for yourself. Oh, and when your finished someone from over at the palace came looking for you. They need you help in the great hall or something."

"Again? I was just over at the palace. I guess I'd better go." With that Sakura heard footsteps going down the stairs, getting fainter with each step. She lay still until she heard Naruto's voce.

"Sakura, you can come out now." Naruto said.

"Are you sure?" came her voice in a whisper.

"Yes. I wouldn't lie to you." Naruto said.

"Alright." Sakura crawled out from the hay, turning towards the mirror shard to get the hay out of her hair. "How much longer do you think it'll be before they get here?"

"It shouldn't be too long, Sakura. Be patient." Naruto said.

'_This coming from the guy who doesn't know the meaning of the word patient.' _Sakura thought. Just then, more footsteps sounded in the hall, Naruto looked at Sakura and she sighed as she buried herself in the hay again.

"Naruto, where's Sakura?" Sakura heard someone say. If her ears weren't deceiving her, it was Sasuke.

"I don't know. She never came." Sakura heard Naruto say.

"What do you mean she never came?" Sasuke's voice darkened.

"She just never showed up." Naruto said. Sakura let out a small gasp, she couldn't believe Naruto was trying to take this father than necessary.

"What was that?" Sasuke's voice said, and Sakura heard footsteps coming towards the hay where she was hidden. Suddenly, the blanket was thrown off, revealing some of her pink hair, and the hay on top of her soon followed.

"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed as she threw her arms around said boy's neck. Sasuke returned the embrace, and then turned his head to glare at Naruto.

"It was just a joke, Sasuke." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Naruto," Kakashi said, "this is no joking matter. One screw up and it's all over. And we have more pressing matters than your little games right now. The Suna army is preparing to march. There seems to be an uproar about the marriage."

A/N: Ok, so, there should be one more chapter after this. I added things that didn't really have to be in here to make it longer, but hopefully it still gets the point across. Reviews are much appreciated! Hey guys! Check out my online little brother (he's part of my FAC family) rffraff05's story, Naruto's Dream: One Year of Training! 


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Naruto," Kakashi said, "this is no joking matter. One screw up and it's all over. And we have more pressing matters than your little games right now. The Suna army is preparing to march. There seems to be an uproar about the marriage."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror as she loosened her grip on Sasuke. "What?"

"It appears that someone found out that we're planning on getting you out of here." Kakashi said.

"What's going to happen?" Sakura asked, her face showing the fear that gripped her stomach.

"We're not sure." Sasuke said. He too had loosened his grip on Sakura. His arm was loosely around her waist.

"They're probably going to march within the next twenty minutes. They're right at the forest line. You can see them from here." Kakashi said. "We can't move Sakura until they make a move. It would be too easy to spot her."

"Oh." Sakura's face paled.

"Naruto, I suggest you go prepare four horses to ride." Kakashi said. "We may need to leave at any minute."

"But what about Iruka?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"I doubt anyone will be coming to the stables. There's too much to do at hand. Although, I wish we had left shadow clones, Sasuke. But it's too late now." Kakashi said. Naruto nodded his head and went and did as he was told.

"Hn." was Sasuke's only reply. His concern right now was getting Sakura out of here safely.

"Sasuke." Sasuke looked down to see said girl looking up at him. She looked terrified, and her face could rival that of a ghost's.

"It's ok, Sakura. I'm going to get you out of here safely, if it's the last thing that I do. I promise you that." Sasuke said. Sakura's face had a little bit of color comeback to it at this statement, but she looked no less terrified. Just then, shouts could be heard from outside. The sounds of commands being given to the Konoha knights and soldiers, and the yells of the men in response. It sounded as if battle were eminent. And it would occur any minute now. Naruto came back upstairs shortly, reporting what he had managed to hear through the thinner wooden walls of the horse quarters.

"Evidently someone over heard you guys making plans in the garden. And that someone who overheard you was Kankuro, the prince's brother, and also the leader of Suna's army. They tried to work things out, but evidently the king slapped your shadow clone, and it disappeared. Now both armies are preparing for battle." Naruto said grimly.

"As soon as the first sounds of battles are heard, we go downstairs. Our top priority is getting Sakura out of here. If she's caught, we're all dead. Got it?" Kakashi said, issuing orders. Sasuke and Naruto nodded, and Sakura felt Sasuke's grip on her waist tighten just a little bit, which Naruto didn't fail to notice either.

"Afraid someone's going to come and take her from you, Sasuke?" Naruto teased. How he could tease Sasuke at a time like this was beyond the others, but Kakashi quickly put a stop to it with a sharp look at Naruto. They waited the rest of the time in silence, with Sakura gripping the sack she had, and resting her head on Sasuke's shoulder. They didn't have to wait long, however, for soon battle cries were heard from the outdoors, and the screams of the wounded were heard.

"Let's move." Kakashi said. He went down first, followed by Naruto, then Sakura, then Sasuke. When they were downstairs, Kakashi turned towards them. "Sasuke, you're going to make sure Sakura gets out of here by sticking with her no matter what, got it? And Naruto, you and I are going out first, and we're going to try and clear the way for Sakura to escape. You'll be going towards the opposite ends of the ground, where Kiba is, if you remember, Sakura." They all nodded, and Kakashi and Naruto mounted their horses, while Sasuke opened the door enough so that they could get out, then quickly shut it again.

"Are you ready?" Sasuke asked.

"Not really, but what choice do I have?" Sakura replied.

"None." Sasuke said as he led one of the two remaining horses over to Sakura. He then helped her mount it, and took the reins of his own horse as well as Sakura's into his hands.

"Aren't you riding out, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, looking worried.

"I can't open the door and be on the horse at the same time." Sasuke replied.

"Alright." Sakura said, sounding unsure.

"As soon as I open the door, ride out. Don't go to fast, but don't sit and wait for me. I'll catch up in a few seconds." Sasuke said while Sakura nodded. Sasuke led the horses over to the doors, and Sasuke reached for the wooden board that blocked it into place. He then slid it over, and with a quick glance at Sakura, pushed the door open. Sakura immediately exited. Sasuke quickly mounted his horse and kicked it into a gallop. He caught up to Sakura in a matter of seconds. Kakashi and Naruto had managed to clear a small path for them, but they surely didn't go unnoticed by some of the knights.

"There's the princess!" A Suna knight yelled.

"And she's with that Uchiha knight!" Another yelled. Sasuke realized that it wouldn't be long before they were after them.

"Sakura!" he yelled. She looked at him. "Speed up; they'll be after us at any second!" Sakura merely nodded as she forced her horse to go faster. Sasuke looked behind him and saw one knight coming after them, but when he looked more closely, he saw that it wasn't just anyone wearing that armor, it was Prince Gaara himself. He was a ways in the distance, but Sasuke still knew that they had no chance against him. He quickly stopped his horse, and Sakura stopped hers as well. She turned to look at Sasuke.

"Sasuke…?" She asked, out of breath from riding.

"Sakura, its Gaara coming after us. We'll both never make it." Sasuke said as he dismounted his horse and walked over to Sakura's horse.

"But can't we try?" She asked him desperately. He shook his head.

'There's no possible way." Sasuke said. He pulled Sakura's head down so that he could kiss her, and did so, one last time before preparing to leave. "Sakura, you know that I love you."

"I love you, too, Sasuke." She said sadly. He grabbed her hand, as he prepared to remount his horse and double back to slow Gaara.

"Here, you might need this. You never know how long you'll be able to get by with the money you have." Sasuke said, he placed something cool around Sakura's wrist, and she looked down to see the bracelet snapped into place. "Now go! Quick!" Sasuke yelled, but before Sakura had a chance to urge her horse forward, a familiar breeze picked up, and was shortly followed by a white light. Sakura clutched the sack that was in front of her, hoping that what she thought was happening was truly happening. She looked at Sasuke, who in turn looked back to her. They started swirling around in the wind. Sakura closed her eyes, and when she opened them back up, she was standing in her doorway, looking at Sasuke, Kakashi and Naruto.

"We're home." She whispered.

"We are." Kakashi said, as if confirming his student's words.

"How did we get back?" Naruto asked.

Sakura looked at Sasuke. "Well, Sasuke put the bracelet on my wrist, fastened it, and then that wind picked up…and here we are."

"Seriously?" Naruto asked. "That's all? He put a bracelet on your wrist, and we were home?"

"Ya." Sasuke said.

"I can't believe it." Sakura said, as she recounted the events of the past few days, or had it even been days here? She didn't care, she and her team were home, and that was all that she cared about. She looked at her friends, who were just looking at her. It was then that she realized that the sack was still clutched in her hands. "Oh!" She exclaimed, looking at it.

As if noticing it for the first time, Naruto asked, "Sakura, what's in that sack?"

"Well, food, and…I'm not sure." Sakura said.

"Let's go inside so that you can open it." Kakashi said.

Sakura nodded as she led her friends into her house, and sat down on the couch. She then opened the drawstrings and gasped at what she saw. She pulled out a dress, but not just any dress, it was the wedding dress that had been made for the princess. As she pulled it out, a note fluttered to the ground. Sakura picked it up and read it.

_Sakura,_

_You said that this is what you always wanted your wedding dress to look like. I'm sure that the real princess would have wanted you to have it. I know I was supposed to put food in this bag, but I thought that this was more important. I don't know if it will actually be able to go back to the future with you, but until you find out, it's yours. I want to thank you for being such a great friend while you were here. Hopefully you'll get to wear this soon. Good luck with the rest of your life,_

_Ino_

Tears of happiness came to Sakura's eyes as she read the note. "Thank you." She whispered silently. Just silently enough so that no one else could hear her.

"A dress?" Naruto asked. "That's boring. Anyways, is anybody else hungry? I'm starved! And going all those days without ramen means we have to go to Ichiraku! Come on you guys!" Naruto said as he jumped up. No one protested as Kakashi followed him out the door, Sakura laid the dress on the couch gingerly and looked at it for a second before preparing to follow them as well, when she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Sasuke.

"Sakura, would you maybe…I don't know…like to go out with me sometime?" He asked.

"I'd love to, Sasuke." Sakura said, as she grabbed his hand, causing him to blush for a second, and then she followed her other two friends out the door.

A/N: I'm going to cry! It's over! I want to thank everyone who's followed this story so much for reviewing, and being there for me during the rough times I've gone through. I'd also like to thank anybody who's ever reviewed this story! Without you guys, I would have most likely stopped writing after chapter 2. I'm pretty sure that this has been my longest chapter, which seems fitting for the end. I hope that you guys liked it. Reviews are much appreciated, and have been throughout this entire story!


End file.
